April 29, 2011

Hey Family!

So this past week has been rough.  I thought Easter would soften the hearts of the people to be more open to a message about Christ but I was so very wrong.  It seems like another tradition on Easter here involves large amounts of life destroying alcohol. And anybody can ask me and I will tell them that alcohol is exactly that, life destroying.  I've seen some stuff lately.

It turns out that i was right in my hunch that my companion would be transferred.  After a short 6 weeks I am with another companion!  This time he's a missionary I already knew very well.  Elder Hann!  I don't know if you guys remember but I talked about him a bunch in my first letters from when I got into the field.  He's from my group that came from the MTC.  He's from Arizona and he is a stud.  He has changed a lot since the last time a saw him a year ago.  He talks different and acts different and its like he's got fire in his eyes.  I'm pretty stoked.

I don't know if you guys remember about the deaf girl I talked about a few emails ago, but we taught her and her family again last night.  This time we had a young woman go with us that knew sign language so she could translate for us.  We had always felt the spirit very strongly when we taught this family but this only left us very confused because the family never made any progress but the lessons were always very edifying.  Last night we discovered exactly why.  We had to teach very slow and in the most simple language that we could.  Explaining every principle of the Restoration of the Gospel as clearly and basic as we could.  As we taught we felt and could almost see the spirit catching the words that came out of our mouths and thrusting them into the hearts of this family, especially Josiane who has a hearing problem.  I had never taught like that before and the spirit was extremely present.  I felt the greatest feeling of joy as I saw her understanding growing and how she accepted every truth we taught her so humbly and the joy that she showed in hearing and understanding the good news of the restoration.  She finally had the opportunity to express what she was feeling to us and to her family.  She told us about how she felt so different during all our lessons, that she felt the love of God during our lessons but she didn't know why.  She explained that the same feelings she had had during the other visits she was feeling again.  I took the opportunity to explain to the family that what she was feeling and what they were feeling was the Holy Ghost testifying that everything we taught was true and good.  My companion started to testify and he talked with a different tone in his voice.  It was like the voice of an apostle giving warning and declaring that Joseph Smith was called as a Prophet of God and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is exactly what it is, the only true and living church who's power, guidance and authority comes directly from the mouth of the Savior.  Nobody in that moment could deny it, I knew it was true and I know Josiane knew it.  She accepted to be baptised.

I am sooo happy that I have been baptised by someone having authority!  I am so happy that I have to right to the company of the Holy Ghost!  I am so grateful that I know what that means and that because of this knowledge I know exactly who I am, where I came from, why I'm here and where I'm going.  I am so grateful for the atonement and for knowing that despite all my errors may be as scarlet they may be white as wool because of the Savior.  And I'm even happier that I get to share this with others!  Especially my Family!  I love you guys! Every single one of you! 

Big Hugs
Elder Romm

April 13th, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad,

This past weekend we had Sanderson's baptism, it was really awesome, lots of people were cryin and all that good stuff.

My companion and I are starting to understand one another in our teaching and we are starting to teach a little bit better together now so that is good.  This is probably a sign that one of us will be transferred because that just seems to happen a lot.  We have been teaching a family with two girls who really want to be baptized and we found out this week that the parents don't have anything against them being baptized this next weekend.  That was definitely a tender mercy from the Lord because one of these girls was living with her grandma and her grandma is not a big fan of ours.  But this week she moved back to her mom's house and her mom loves us.  Score for Jesus!

Today we had a training that we gave to our Zone.  We assigned missionaries who don't have a lot of time on the mish to give the trainings and they rocked the house.  These missionaries that are arriving in the field now a days are at least three times cooler than i am!  Today we learned that true and complete joy is only achieved in and through Jesus Christ and his gospel.  And if you want to experience it you either have to share it or share it, then share it again.  Missionary work exists not only for us to help others receive salvation; its to help us receive salvation.  I gave a training about how we can recognize the spirit and how we can recognize his whisperings.  I definitely learned more than the other missionaries did but that's alright.  I shared a few experiences that we've had these past few weeks.  One was when we were teaching a lesson about the plan of salvation to a family where one of the daughters is deaf.  We taught with power and authority and testified of the blessing of the Resurrection and how that they could be an eternal family through the Restored Gospel.  After and during the lesson everyone was very quiet and a great peace filled the room.  Then the girl with the hearing problem looked at me with her eyes wide open and started to show me the goose bumps on her arms and pointed upwards towards the heavens and then pointed to her heart and let out a deep breath nodding her head and smiling.  She didn't understand a word we said, but the Spirit testified to her in her heart that what we were saying was true and good and she could feel the presence of the spirit.  I don't speak her language but the spirit does, i wish i knew sign language so i could ask her exactly what she was feeling and what she understood. 

I'm excited for Brad and Jess.  You guys are going to embark in the service of your God.  Where you will work side by side with angels and the holy ghost.  It is impossible to take part in this work without having spiritual experiences that also uplift us, leave life-long impressions and that strengthen our faith in Christ as our Savior.  Christ lives and he is very much involved and ever present in our lives and this is His church and gospel, and its here to help us if we let it.

I love you guys!  Spread the love!

Elder Romm
(I wanted to send pics but I think my adapter thing is broken)

April 6th, 2011

Mom and Dad,

Wasn't conference awesome?  It's seriously the best time for a missionary.  I could watch conference all the time! In fact, I'm watchin it right now! haha.   We have also had leadership trainings this whole week so I'm feeling so uplifted i just don't know what to do with myself!

I thought it was very funny how much Pres. Monson and the apostles kept burning the young men who aren't getting married.  The other American elders and I had some good laughs.  We would just like to comment that some of us are still on the Lord's errand and everyone needs to just hang on a sec!  Hah.

We have a baptism this weekend, he is a stud.  An example of somebody who lived in the world for a long time but managed to really hold it together and follow many important commandments until we got to him.  His wife is a less active but wanting to come back.  He is an occupational therapist and works with mentally challenged children.  He has got a ton of patience. 

We are really going to be looking for some miracles in these next coming weeks,  we've been taught a lot about faith in these trainings and about how we can really work miracles in this work.  We have some people with very hard hearts and very strong addictions that we need to help.  But i really believe its gonna work out. 

When we choose to believe we really open a lot of windows (of Heaven).  I walked out of the church after watching general conference and after feeling so strongly that spirit and the absolute peace that i was carrying with me i started to look at the people on the streets and the thought came into my mind, the world has no idea what they have just lost.  I can't deny that what i felt was power of the holy ghost testifying to me that it all is true.  And if i decided not to accept the Book of Mormon as truth or the Prophet as a man called of God the spirit would never ever be able to give me this confirmation and that peace of mind, sureness in my heart, would not have ever arrived to me.  Our testimony is the most precious thing we have, and its something we can share with everyone!

Be Happy, Love you guys, have a great week!
Elder Romm

March 30, 2011

Hey Mom and Dad,

So a few more days until General Conference!  Woohoo.  I have always loved general conference but I think on the mission I've really acquired a more profound love for these 4 days of the year.  It's good stuff.

So this last weekend we baptized Carlos!  It was awesome, one of the best baptisms I've had on the mission.  He was very prepared.  And he's a hilarious kid.

Sometimes I wish I could have a camera always filming what happens during the day.  I always have very interesting experiences, experiences that make me chuckle when I think back upon them but that were very painful or difficult in the moment.  Like how my companion guesses the weather and is always wrong, or when we meet crazy people to teach.  That movie the best two years should have been filmed in Brazil and it would have turned out a little more like Nacho Libre.  I think when I get back I'll hire Jack Black to play my role and make a movie.

Brad remember how you used to flex and ask me to punch your muscles to show me how strong you were and I would give it to ya right in the jugular?  Well I told my companion and my ward mission leader about that and they about wet themselves.  I wanted to apologize btw for all those throat punches.

Love you guys!  Have a nice weekend!

Elder Romm

March 23, 2011

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today we went to the temple and it was awesome.  I love going to the temple.  The only hard thing about it is that eventually you have to leave =/

Looks like we are gunna baptize this weekend, we are only waiting for the 'okay' from the mom.  I hope everything works out.  His name is Carlos and he is 16 and reminds me a LOT of Jess.  Very strange.  I always get trunky when we teach him. 

So Brad its official, you can finally tell people your older brother is now more afraid of you than of dinosaurs.  And if people say that dinosaurs aren't scary you tell them that its just because they've never seen one.  I'm pretty sure i have, and it wasn't as scary as you are.

Me and my companion are getting along well, he's very OCD.  I'm not so OCD anymore so its pretty entertaining to watch him.  I just laugh and say "you're sucha noob."

I've been studying a lot of old conference talks and I was wondering why the heck I didn't catch all this good stuff when I listened to them 3 years ago.  There was one that I liked a lot that talked about the plan of salvation by Richard G. Scott.  I never really had thought about the plan of salvation in such a way.  Usually when I studied the plan I could only see the part about condemnation if we neglected our probation but he showed how it really is much happier.  And there was another one that talked about remembering patience with ourselves and remembering who we are.  I think it was the April 2006.

Well my time is already gone, just wanted to say that I love y'all and hope everybody is happy.  I'm gonna send some pics before my time runs out, loves!!

Elder Romm

Testimony

Hey Mom and Dad,

Hows it goin?  Good to hear that life is good.  And yes Dad you are right, not everything is as peachy and I pitch it but hey, I've only got and hour to type and if I looked for all the tough stuff I'd miss the good stuff =P  Especially this week.  We had some stuff happen that wasn't very helpful but we already know what our problem was.  Lack of Faith.  We were expecting it to fall apart and it just did what it was expected to do; had we thought differently we for sure would have had different experiences.  But lesson learned haha.

We went to the temple today!  It was awesome, I got to see other missionaries from my group in the MTC and a day in the house of the Lord is never a downer.  I took some more pics so I'll send those too today.

I've learned so much this past week.  First of all I learned that my companion knows how to cook, that is a blessing from the heavens, also a smile makes a 100 percent difference, that I'm in the area with the most places to fish on the mission, and other stuff slightly more useful too.  This last Sunday Luan bore his testimony in sacrament meeting.  That was an awesome experience.  He convinced me to do it too so I went with him.  He really is converted; it made me stop and think about my level of conversion.  Luan is the only member in his house, every other family member is against the Church, but he doesn't even seem to let it touch him.  When I go to teach a lesson some times I think that I need to say something profound and that just blows people's minds but I rarely if ever do and it used to bother me.  Now I realise that that's the last thing I should worry about.  I have a testimony, its very simple.  I heard the truth and I believed it.  The most important thing I can do is tell is how living it has changed everything.

Its all true, and I know it!
 

Elder Romm

Batismo

Hey Mom and Dad,

So we have been havin some good days lately.  We had the baptism of Luan this last Sunday and it was really awesome.  Not a single member of Luan's family went to watch his baptism.  When we asked him if anyone was gonna come to church with him to see his baptism he said that nobody from his family would be there, but the Lord would be there and that is family enough already.  This kid is a stud.  Also we saw a kid riding his bike on the street that we met at the house of one of our investigators Saturday night.  We invited him to go to church and he said he would, then when we went to pick up one of our investigators he was there waiting to go to church Sunday morning.  Halfway through the sacrament meeting he leaned forward and said "Elder, when can I be baptised?" Hmmm.  That was a pretty sweet experience.  His name is Delon and he is getting ready to be baptised this Sunday.  Also when we were walking to one of our other appointments, and as we rounded the corner, our investigator saw us and came running down the road screaming "I know when I want to be baptised!  This Sunday!!!!"  "I prayed and I feel prepared now!"

My companion and I are really tryin to be worthy of all these blessings.  We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the prayers of this ward and of our families who are no doubt contributing to all the progress our investigators are making.  So keep the prayers coming because its working!!!  We are working hard and it looks like we are going to need to work even more now, the Lord seems to never let you get ahead!  Its pretty intense to be able to see the opposition in all things here on the mish.  Its like a race.  We know that its us two here working for the side of good and so we know there are at least two others workin for the other side, and if we don't check up on our investigators the enemy does.

 
I got to go fishin today, my hands smell like fish and I did some worm hunting this morning.  Life is good.
I hope everything is well at home, I love you guys and THANKS for your prayers, we need them!!

Love ya,
Elder Romm