Romania

2-24-2014

Hey everyone!!!

Thank you all for all your emails!!! It’s great to get a lot of e-mails

and read about all the things that have been going on. Sorry if I have

not responded. I try my best to e-mail back.

So I wouldn’t say that this week was the best week but we still did

a lot. Mostly a lot of street contacting and talking to people about

English. Nobody went down to Bucharest for transfers because our whole district

stayed the same so we weren’t able to get our supplies and most

importantly our English cards. So we just had to work with what we

have and tomorrow we have Zone Training meeting in Bucharest so we

will get them then.

In the beginning of the week it was beautiful and sunny so we went to

the park and talked to so many people it was awesome. Time flies when

you’re going from one person to another. We actually ran into a pretty

big group of kids about our age and they were all speaking English. So

we had to say something because its not every day that we hear people

speaking english. Turns out they were from all around the world (If I

can remember: Uganda, Costa Rica, Brazil, China, and Ukraine) and they

were all here in Craiova teaching some class of kids on how to be

successful in life. It was so much fun talking to them and they were

all really nice. They brought up a lot of questions like what are we

doing and it was a really good way to share with them a little about

our church. It was interesting because the girl from Uganda was like

oh yeah the mormon missionaries, I love them and we are very familiar

with them. And then the girl from China was like Ihave never heard of

you guys before. haha Over all most people knew who we are which was

really nice to hear because nobody knows about Mormons here. ha

Towards the end of the week it rained a lot which wasn't as fun.

Nobody was out and very few let us talk to them.

We are still in need of some investigators and we are running out of

time!! It’s a little frustrating that we haven't been able to find any.

We have gone through the area book many times to call former

investigators but all the ones that we actually met with do not want

to progress and just like to have company. We have also called most

of the inactive members that are men (which there aren’t many) And they are

all a blacked out number! We are still trying and we are hoping for a

little miracle this week because we really need it. We only need a few

solid active members for this branch to stay open but at the pace that

it’s going right now it will close.

Let’s see, other than that not a whole bunch happened this week. Nobody

showed up to our Friday night activity so that was a bummer. We are

just trying to stay positive here in Craiova. I am still loving it so

much and I know it’s the work of the Lord. I love you all and thank you

so much for all of your support.

Elder Mayans

Mommy!!!!!

So first to answer a few things you mentioned in the last e-mail, First

off about Ukraine. Ya I have heard a lot about it actually it on all

the news here. I heard it’s getting worse and its pretty close to where

Ryan is. Hopefully they will figure things out because if it gets

worse they will probably take missionaries out of there.

Also Elder Bundage and I have started running 3 times a week and it

has been great. If you could though in your next package send me my

running shorts. If you haven’t moved everything around in my room yet,

they should still be on the bottom rack left side of my closet. They

are black and have a speedo lining inside it. They are really light so

it will be worth it to send. The shorts that I have right now stink.

Also, other package ideas, I need some more Cholula! haha And a workout

band because mine broke. Thanks mom.

I love the email from Chester! haha Tell him to not worry I’ll be there

soon!!! ha I love Chester!

The life of a Romanian Missionary

2-17-2014

Hello again familia mea frumoasa!!!!

I had such an amazing week this week and have lots to share. It sounds

like you guys had a pretty busy week as well with Maichael being home,

Bens Birthday, Valentines day,and all the things that have been going

on in the ward.

So to start off we had 2 lessons this week!!! I know right?! Way too

Much, we should try to slow down a little. haha No, but it was cool to

be able to meet up with a few people this week. Unfortunately that

wasn't the best part of the week because they aren’t super interested

and aren’t willing to keep any commitments. One man we met with was named Alexandru who works at the philharmonic and sits on a chair all day so

it’s pretty easy to meet up with him at his work. He has been taught a

decent amount in the past and has been up and down as far as

progressing. When we met with him we really wanted to hit on just the

importance of following Christ and why do we need to do all these

things. (like go to church, be baptized, follow the commandments) We

had a pretty good lesson with him  and he liked our message but at the

end I feel like he kinda shrugged it off. At times it was hard to keep

him focused. We are still going to keep in contact with him but I don’t

know if we are going to want to meet with him on a weekly basis

because it might be a waste of time. The other guy we met with was

Iulian. We did a 30/30 with him (half english/half Gospel) because he

is preparing to get a job in America. But we had a good talk with him

about the gospel. He is very orthodox but is really nice and is

willing to learn other things.

Also this week it as all nice and warm!!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!! Well

sort of but now there are a lot of people on the streets and in the

parks with their family. It is great and we have visited the park a

few times because of it. So more towards the end of the week we had a

lot of things happen. On Saturday morning we found out about

transfer boards!!! and..... I’m staying in Craiova another transfer!!!

I am actually really excited about this. Most people have told me that

after 2 transfers here you go crazy but I will be going on my 4th and

I still love it. I love this small city and the tiny branch. I like it

more because it makes us be more involved with the branch and makes us

really have to run everything. It makes me feel like I am doing a lot

more and actually making a difference. I will also be staying with

Elder Brundage next transfer which I’m am really glad for. He is an

awesome missionary and we work really well together. So after that we

had our last English class which was so good and so many people

came!!! We had a full house and we just did a huge review because

there was a lot of new students and it was the last class. It was

really fun and there was a really cute little girl who was amazing at

English and knew everything. haha All the other older students felt

stupid because they are trying so hard and she just came in there and

destroyed everything. haha But is was a lot of fun. We also had a

Valentines Day party there at the church right after English class

ended. We invited them to stay if they wanted and a few of them did!

It was a really good activity and about 21 people were there!!!!! It

was crazy. I joked with the Spooners that we might have to find a

bigger church because there are so many people here. haha At the party

we had a spiritual thought on the love of God. We thought that was

appropriate for Valentines day. Then we played games, decorated

cookies, and ate food while we talked with everyone. It was super fun

and a good way to have relationships with some people. Oh another

thing about Valentines day was that so many people on the street were

asking us where our girls were and offered their daughters so us. haha

Crazy I know! ha It was hard to explain and they didn’t really get it

that we didn’t have permission to have girls. haha Valentines day here

isn’t even on the 14th here but they still celebrate it. There were a

ton of flower shops everywhere and a lot of parties. As a matter of

fact there was a huge concert here with all the biggest music artists

in Romania. I don’t know that much about it but I guess it was a big

deal.

Then on Sunday we had 3 visitor from America. One was on a business

trip here because America is building a military base just right

outside of Craiova so he’s working with that. And the other was a

missionary who served here about 3 years ago and came to visit with

his wife. It was fun to talk to them and see how things were in the

past. And it sounds like not much has changed. haha I also gave a talk

on Sunday on humility. I felt like I did a really good job and it was

a good Sunday over all. I’m loving everyday and just trying to make the

best of every minute. I love being a missionary and serving the

Lord.

Months are now starting to feel like weeks and it is going just way too

fast. I love you all and hope everything is going great. Remember not

to have too much fun without me. ;)

Love you guys..

Elder Mayans

Up-date from a Romanian missionary

2-2-2014

Eh, Oh family!!!! Still a huge drought? That sounds like it’s really

serious and that California needs water really bad. :\ it’s still the

exact opposite over here. We have gotten a total of about 15 inches

of snow it is ridiculous. To be honest I’m kinda sick of it and it just

makes everything harder. I have come to the conclusion that I will

never live in the snow when I’m older. Also the temperature has been

really low and on Thursday and Friday of this week we had to limit our

time outside because it was too dangerous. I’m staying warm but the wind

chill still cuts through your layers pretty easily.

This week we had a few things go on but for the most part we did a lot

of area book work because we couldn’t be outside.

So on Tuesday we actually went to a less active members house and

visited with her. Her name is Dana and she has a daughter who’s

probably around 9 years old. Her husband lives in Italy, isn’t a member

and doesn't treat her very good so her life is pretty hard right now.

She hasn’t been to church in a really long time but was willing to have

us visit her. Our visit with her was I think really friendly. We got

to know her a little more and then talked mostly about the importance

of going to church every Sunday and reading the scriptures. She gave

us a lot of excuses why she can’t go and she wasn't willing to change

but I think she was touched by our visit and she even teared up a

little bit. We also talked about reading the scriptures with her

daughter and the importance of having the spirit. At times it was hard

because she kept getting a lot of phone calls which was a distraction

but it went ok. We offered to help her with anything she needs. Also

on Tuesday we had English class which was great as always. The old

ladies are so nice to me it’s hilarious. We are still teaching beginners

so we are just doing a lot of repeating and pronunciation.

On Thursday we had district meeting which was great. It’s a lot easier

to conduct district meeting when everyone participates. We also

shoveled up a lot of snow because President and Sora Hill were planning

on coming to Craiova to do interviews with us. Unfortunately they

couldn’t come because it snowed too much and the roads were blocked. SO

we have interviews planned for this Saturday.

Friday we did a bunch of area book work which was really good to do

but a lot of time inside the apartment which made me go a little

crazy! haha We organized a lot of it and made a huge list of people we

should call. So this week we have a good amount of people to call and

try to set up appointments. It’s pretty much all we have right now

because there is nobody on the streets and it would just be a waste of

time. That night we had Friday night activity. Toni came again as well

as Dorina. We talked about families and then played some board games.

Saturday we had English again. Great lesson and we had an AMAZING

spiritual thought on the atonement. The spirit was there and the

students really liked it.

Sunday we had church which was great as always. It was fast Sunday so

we all had to bear our testimonies. We had a few people who said they

would come but nobody showed up.

That’s the majority of the week. Winter makes everything even slower

but missionary work doesn't stop. I am doing great and I love serving

here. It helps me rely on my testimony more and have more faith. I

love this church and I love all of you. Have a great week.

Elder Mayans

Great pics of Jacob in Romanian snowstorm!!

1-24-2014

Hello my beautiful family!

Well I guess that winter has finally hit Romania! It has been a crazy

week and has been snowing hard since Friday.. and I am freezing! The

weird thing is that is was starting to get warmer and then a huge

storm came out of nowhere. So I have a lot of good pictures to send this

week.

So this week.. let’s see. On Tuesday we had our first English class

which was awesome! We had a total of about 30 people come which is

still a ton! I love teaching English and it’s one of very few times

where I can really get to know people and talk to them. It’s great and

I think the people who come like how we teach even though we aren’t the

best English teachers.

On Wednesday I don’t remember exactly what we did but we contacted a lot. haha

On Thursday we had district meeting and also the ZL's came to have an

exchange with us. District meeting was really good and I think our

district works really well together. We come up with a lot of good

ideas on things we can do during the week. Also the exchange with the

ZL's went pretty well. I was with Elder Hokkanen from Finland. He’s

really different but still a good Elder. We went survey contacting which

I have never done before. We walked around and asked people if they

could take a 10 question survey about "intrebarele sufletului"

(questions of the soul). We then asked them simple questions about

religion and got some pretty cool responses. It was just another way

to tell people who we are and what we believe.

Friday is when it started to snow like crazy. We had a long day in the

snow and then Friday night activity. We did a spiritual thought on the

importance of prayer and then played uno!!! We had 2 people show up.

On Saturday we had English again which was great as always. Not as

many people came due to the weather but it was still a good turnout.

Also on Saturday we went to the hospital again just like last time!!!

I love hospital contacting. There’s always the nicest people there. We

 had a chance to sing to a lot of families. The stickers are

great too because they love them and it’s a good way to break the

barrier when we walk into the rooms.

Sunday we had a decent amount of people at church. Our guest speaker

Didn’t come probably because of the weather so we had to fill in a lot

of time. We are starting the Old Testament in Sunday school so that’s

always fun. After church we had a lot of time on our hands to spare.

Elder Brundage and I decided to go block knocking which we are not

huge fans of doing. We did this HUGE block with like 70 doors and not

one of them even let us speak. Some of them got really mad at us

because it was Sunday and apparently that was not ok. haha We took it

lightly and laughed about it later. So yeah, block knocking isn’t the

best. On the way back to the apartment we helped a few people shovel

snow or get their car un-stuck.

That’s about it. We have President coming this week for interviews and

I am giving a talk next week. Other than that just more finding and

trying not to freeze. Love you all. This Church is true and it makes

me so happy to be able to serve and love people. Have a great week!

Elder Mayans

The Adventures Continue.....

1-19-2014

This is Elder Mayans signing in on another week. #RomaniaMission ha

Sorry I don’t like starting the e-mails the same way every week.

So, the past week was wonderful. I feel like this week we have made a

lot of progress in helping Craiova stay alive.

Starting at the beginning of the week we had Zone Training meeting so

we had to go down to Bucuresti again. Elder Brundage and I had to do a

presentation on testifying while finding. Usually the meetings are

kinda boring so we made sure it was fun but still had the spirit. I

could tell that the ZL's were not very happy because they are a little

serious but President Hill was there and he loved it so it couldn’t

have been that bad. I though it was a good meeting over all.

So for the rest of the week we have been hitting the streets a lot and

trying to meet up with some people. On Thursday this week during

correlation, President Spooner made a little Craiova district goal to

try and reach a certain number of contacts a day so that we don’t just

walk around. We are also still strivng to get the in-active members back

so we can get the branch back. The contacting is going great and we

are we are talking to more people but as far a in-active members go, we

called all the ones we could and they can’t or said to never call back

again. sooo.. yeah the branch is kinda hard. On Friday we did have a

great Friday night activity. We had Tony show up and also this lady

named Dorina. We played charades and ate some food. It was really

simple but a really successful activity. Tony is a cool guy who hasn’t

been going to church but goes to activities sometimes. I think he

likes me because he’s really nice to me but not very nice to other

missionaries. haha So I invited him to church and for the first time

that I’ve been here he came!!

Which brings me to the next thing I want to talk about. So you know

how there have been  about 2 members going to church every week. Well

yesterday we had 17 people at church!!!!!! It was amazing. It felt so

good to have people there. We also had 2 Americans from the district

council come and speak. Since Tony was there he translated thank

goodness. it was really cool to see people at church and it was

probably one of the best Sundays I have had out here so far. We also

had a member come who lives about 2 hours away. It was the first time

I have met him and he’s was a really nice guy. He has written a few

books and is pretty well known.

Other than that it was a really quick week. We have English classes

starting up again tomorrow so we will see how that goes. I’m really

happy where this transfer is going. i am having so much fun and

working really hard. I miss those Sunday naps I use to have because I

almost didn’t make it yesterday. haha Well the church is true and it is

a great time to be a missionary in Romania. I now the the Lord loves

these people so much and he is helping me touch the hearts of the

people here. I love you all and hope everyone is happy and has a good

week.

Elder Mayans

Romanian Life

1-13-14

Hello Family!!!!!

How is everyone doing!!! It has been an amazing week in the mission

life and I feel like these weeks fly by so fast. So to start off this

week was transfers so it consisted of a lot of traveling. On Wednesday

we went down to Bucuresti so that I could get my new district and head

back to Craiova. And my new district is fun and has a lot of

character. So as I told you before, my new companion is Elder Brundage

and he is awesome. One thing I have been really thankful for is

getting great companions. It started to get a little rough serving

with my last companion last transfer and things weren’t moving very much but now it should be great!! Actually Elder Brundage is from Gilbert AZ

and knows Truman Halliday pretty well. Small world. Anyways, I’m really

excited to work with him and I already know its going to be a great

transfer.

As for the other members of the district, There’s Sora Newell who is in

her forth transfer. She is really funny and has a lot of dry humor

which makes me laugh. She’s training Sora Wright who has been in the

country for about 4 days. haha The only way i can describe her is

straight out of the MTC. She is SUPER excited and happy. She’s also

really hyper and talks really fast but she’s great. If you thought I

talked fast you should hear this girl. Holy cow. So that’s it for the

district. I feel like its a really good district for Craiova and there

is plenty of stuff to be done here.

Now as for the week. Well it’s a new transfer so that means English

classes are starting up again in 2 week. We are making sure we are

passing out plenty of cards and putting up posters to advertise. More

than 50% of the missions success is from English classes so its

important that we get a lot of people there. Also on Thursday night

we, as a district had correlation meeting at President Spooners

apartment. We are still really trying to get all of these less active

members to come back to church. We had one member this week tell us he would go to church and also that family from the hospital said they

want to come too. Unfortunately yesterday nobody showed up. So I don’t

really know what to do but we will try to contact them and get them to

come again. Also at church I am now the new translator when President

or Sora Spooner speaks. Let me tell you it was so hard! haha When your

up there translating, all the pressure is on you. haha They say

something and no matter if it’s right or wrong something is coming out

of your mouth a few seconds later. It’s really hard to translate for me

because you don’t just directly translate word for word from English to

Romanian. I did fine I think and got the majority right. My brain was

fried afterwards though because I had to translate a talk and all of

Sunday school.

Other than that I have just been living the good life and loving the

mission. For the past weeks I haven't seen the sun but now the past 2

days its been clear skies and sunny. If winter is over here than that

was the easiest winter ever. Its beautiful here and its crazy to think

that I have almost been through all the seasons here in Romania.

Love you all. Have another great week and write me if you can. It’s

always great to get E-mails and I will try to respond.

The Church is true.

Elder Mayans

Elder Mayans this week in Romania

1-6-2014

Hello everyone!!!

Well, another week has gone by and I have a few new things that have

happened. First off transfer boards came out this week and there are a

lot of big changes. So I am staying here and everyone else is leaving!

Crazy right. So I’m getting a new companion, Elder Brundage, and the

Sisters in Craiova are getting whitewashed. I don’t know what to think

except for that it will be interesting. Pretty much Craiova is

starting over again. ha I’m really excited to work with Elder Brundage.

He is going to be in his 4th transfer. He is a really nice guy and a

hard worker so we should do well together. I will now be the oldest

missionary in my district which is a first. Everything is going way too

fast and I still feel like I just got here.

So this past week has been a little rough. Elder Degraw and I are fine

but I feel like we don’t work the best together so I think a change is

good and we will get more done next transfer. This week the Spooners

came beck from being in America for the holidays. It’s really nice to

have them back and now there are more people at church. I really like

them and I feel like if they weren’t here then they would probably take missionaries out of Craiova.

Because this was the last week of the transfer, we had our last

English class which went really good. We gave 3 copies of the Book

of Mormon out and everyone enjoys us. Because we told them that

everyone is leaving and I’m staying, everyone was like aww you the

chief now. haha We had two lessons planned this week, one with an

english student and the other with Bogdan, a guy we met in a bloc. Those

both fell through which was a bummer because they are super nice

people. I know this mission is really hard but I don’t get it sometimes

because some of these people are the coolest people I have ever met.

They love us to death and they love to talk to us but they don’t want

anything to do with the church. It’s weird because I feel like I have a

hundred of friends all around the city but I don’t have any

investigatiors. Anyway, thats more of the depressing stuff so I will

stop talking about that. haha I know all I can do is keep trying and

try my best.

So for New Years we had permission so stay up till 12! It was amazing.

We went on the roof of the Block and watched Romania go absolutely

crazy at midnight. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

There were fireworks everywhere and the whole city just lit up. It was

like something I have never seen. Romania knows how to celebrate the

right way. haha

Also this week we went back to the hospital and visited the kids and

their families again. I think we are going to continue doing that

because we have found the most success in doing that. It is really cool

now because we are kinda known in the hospital and when we come

everyone says hello and treats us like kings. They are always so happy

when we come. We still sang hyms and we also gave a little message

about Heavenly Fathers Plan. We got 3 numbers out of it so it was

really successful.

Well I love you all! From the emails it looks like everyone had a good

New Years and is doing great. I am so happy out here and this church

is so true. I love it and I love being a missionary. Have a great

week. Miss you and love you all!!!

Elder Mayans

Pictures

 I miss Chester a lot but I have a lot of dogs to keep me company!!!!

This is my friend who lives at the park.

Also the group picture is at the hospital.