Subject: Ce Faceti!
So they hardly give us any time to read all our fan mail and then reply so I will be hustling and will make many a mistake.
The MTC has been great! I don't know why everyone was saying it's so hard from day one and just make it through the MTC because I've had a great as has my companion and my district and my friends. Speaking of which I have seen so many people here and it's been a blessing for me. I've seen Elders DeVisser, Swarts, Matthews, Tanner, Bruneel, Davis, about fifteen of my college friends, I ran into some of Jenni Schmidt's relatives, I ran into a lady from the fifth ward, I ran into a friends Grandma and was elated to hear he was serving, and one of my teachers is my brother's good friend. It's made the experience very enjoyable.
Thanks for those who have already written me, missionaries love getting And the encouragement helps. If anyone could get me Geoffrey Davis's address and David Price's i would be very appreciative! If you want to write me, just use dear elder and they'll send it same day to the MTC for free. Once I'm in Romania you don't have to write me... But i'd love it.
So we came in the first day and I was just full of excitement. Five hundred and seven of us were herded into a room where we were greeted by the presidency and we sang several hymns. Already I had been overwhelmed by the spirit. My companion, Elder Peterson, is from Bluffdale Utah and we get along great. My district is awesome, we all get along well as long as we leave out politics. There is another Romanian District that has been here for six weeks and they have been fantastic as examples and friends. I feel so blessed to have been welcomed in such a way. There are other companionships and districts I see where there is competition and unnecessary tensions. I am very grateful for what I've got. I feel this is where I'm supposed to be.
The language is beautiful! Not as dramatic as Italian and therefore not as fun to speak but we all love learning it. I can already pray, bear testimony, have five minute greeting conversations, invite people to be baptize, and for the most part sing and read in Romanian. Italian has really helped with understanding the grammar and conjugation but at the end of the day, Romanian is a whole new language.
We have focused a lot this first week on getting to know people and ultimately investigators. There are two websites that I would highly recommend to anyone, they are not church-owned and are fantastic projects. The first is 6 billion others. This project was undertaken by some French people I believe and they went to many of the world's countries (most I think) and interviewed hundreds of people on their history, their faith, their happiness, their families, their youth, their trials, etc. It is incredible what we can learn from others. Being in a district with kids from all walks of life, I have seen just how diverse everyone is and how everyone has something unique and useful to bring to the table. The other is a NY Times project I think and it's called 1 in 8 million. I prefer the first but this one is still very interesting.
Saturday night we had a fireside to celebrate the birth of the nation and we had excellent music and speakers but the best part was after the conclusion we went outside and had surreal amounts of haagen-daazzzz Ice cream ( i don't know how to spell that) and watched the Stadium of Fire fireworks display. I've never seen boys look up at a fireworks show like that, we all were like five-year olds. Then Sunday night we were so lucky to have Jenny Oaks Baker come play and speak to us. I had no idea how incredibly talented she was. Her husband spoke for a little as well and she also had her kids (one age 6 and two age 8) play. All girls. one played cello, the other violin, and the last piano. They were incredible.... and they got a standing ovation which was pretty awesome because we didn't clap for Jenny Oaks Baker just due to the setting. Anyways, it's a blast being here.
My companion's best friend is in the district ahead of us, Elder Friel. He played Basketball at SUU and dunks it in my face. But he's the nicest guy. Our Zone Leaders Elder Groberg and Elder Cox are awesome kids too. Everyone gets along so far. Yes Elder Groberg is related to the General authority, it's like his dad's cousin.
We spend about eight hours a day in the classroom if not more studying doctrine and the language. It's pretty easy until we have to practice by teaching others. That's intense... It hasn't made me too stressed out yet, in fact i'm fine and loving it. I love my teachers, Fratele Irion şi Fratele Jepsen, they are great examples and know how to prepare us.
One of the best times is GYM TIME. it's a big deal. Sitting in a classroom for eight hours will make you work out harder than you ever dreamed.... The food is great, you just have to know what to eat and what to run from.
Mother, do you have any scripture cases you could send me? they're like thirty bucks here.... If you don't I'll just buy one. Thanks for the package the other day! Also you may want to call the bank and tell them I'll be in Romania for two years so they don't hold my card
Thanks for the letters, i really appreciate them! This week I will be teaching lessons for thirty five minutes in 100% Romanian! is crazy...
Anyways I don't know what you all want to know. I love you all, miss you a little too, thanks for the support and everything. I love what I am doing and it's where I'm supposed to be.
în Romaneşte, te iubesc şi voi vedez noalte ziua! La revedere, etc, etc. Da suntem mult ferice cu colegii noastre şi a dormi buştian.
Love,
Elder Daniel James Taylor
p.s. bucureşti pretty much means joy town
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