8-24-2014 Constanta Romania

What??????? Grandma told me she got staples in her head, but I didn't know about all of that!..... :( Tell her I love her and give her a hug for me... I will definately pray for Grandma and Grandpa!

This week was awesome! I have seen the work really progress here in Constanta. I have been working as hard as I can, and I have already seen the benefits! I love it! We gave out a Book of Mormom and also had a guy contact us and wanted to know about the church! Just little miracles I see from hard work! 

I went on an exchange Friday and that was AWESOME!!! We did some serious missionary work! It was Elder J and I again. Okay here was our day. First we went and Home taught our Branch President and his family. We talked about Charity and how Christ said that that was the number one commandment from God. Then we went to the park and found this old man. We talked to him for a couple hours. We taught him a little about the plan of salvation. That was cool! WE have him a pamphlet. He is like my best friend! I love him!!! We committed to come to church next week!! After that we went block knocking with the sisters. We did not have any success until this one door. WE knocked and he opened. I told him who we were and who our message was about. He told me that he did not have time for us to come in right then, but he wanted something to read. We gave him a pamphlet with our number on it and the address of the church. He promised that he would read it and told us he would call. We are going to go follow up with him tonight! After that we went and home taught and elderly couple with our Branch President. the husband is really old. HE is not doing well. They go to church every single week. They are the strongest members we have. We shared a message about the atonement and the sacrament. After we asked if the husband would like a blessing, as he laid in his bed and listened to our message, because he was not well enough to move. He accepted. We asked his son to give him a blessing. Our Branch president helped him a little, but the blessing he gave him was beautiful. It was the first one he ever gave. It was short, but it was sweet. You could tell he really loves his dad and really cares about him. After we were done there we got some referrals from our BP. WE then were walking home. I saw a man walking his dog. I just had an impression to talk to him. I did, and we just talked about life a little as we both walked home. Eventually I slowly brought the Gospel into the conversation. He told me he wasn't interested. I explained a little more. He became a little more interested and ended up taking a pamphlet about the plan of salvation. Again, another little miracle. I hope something comes of that! 

Everything is going great here in Romania! Hope everything is good at home! Love you guys! I pray for you and Grandma! 

8-17-2014 Constanta Romania

 The branch I am in is really small!! Like i think about 20 ish people come to church! The people are way cool though! oh and that number is including missionaries. There are six of us in my area. 4 elders and 2 sisters. The area I am in is REALLY HOT!!! It is kinda a hard city for missionary work because everyone spends all their time on he beach. This is also the vacation hotspot in Romania! ha so not a lot of people are actually from Constanta. I really want you guys to come pick me up so I can give you a personalized tour of Romania! I freaking love this place!!!! My companion has been out... about a year and a half.  So this week I went on an exchange with Elder J, you know the one that was in the MTC with me from Twin. We both have the same views on missionary work so we did some awesome stuff that day! We went block knocking and no luck, but we found an orthodox man on the street and we taught him very briefly and gave him a Gospel of Jesus Christ Pamphlit. It was soooo cool!!! The work is really slow for us right now. We have been doing a lot of contacting for our English classes. We will start doing more Gospel contacting starting.. tomorrow or Wednesday. Our Branch president is the coolest guy ever! He served a mission in England, and he is just amazing!! He actually is going to be released as is going to be on of President Ivory's counselors!! He is going to be great!! I am soooo excited for him! The language is really a struggle.. I get so frustrated when I don't understand what is going on, and then I cannot respond to what people say. It is coming! I get better every single day! my companion said I am progressing really really quickly! That makes me feel good! I cannot believe I have already been here.. well one day shy of two weeks! That is crazy!! Time is FLYING BY!!!! We had an INSANE storm the other day! Saturday night to be exact! It lasted from about 6 pm to 5 am.. There was not a single second where you could not see a lightning bolt in the sky! It was crraaaazyyyyy! The wind and rain made it seem like a hurricane! Our apartment got struck my lightning! It was the loudest thing I have ever heard! I jumped like three feet in the air! haha Hope the fam is doin well! i LOVE YOU GUYS AND MISS YOU A LOT! I pray for you everyday! Love you!!! oh and sorry.. I will try to send pictures later today. I don't have the means to send them now! Love you!

1st full week in Romania 8-11-2014

So I am in the beautiful city of Constanța! I love it! It is absolutely amazing!!! The people here are really..... grumpy when you first meet them. They never smile , but once you talk to them they open up and look a lot more happy which is amazing! I love this place! My apartment is right on the beach here on the black sea! It is beautiful! I cannot believe I am actually here! My trainer is cool! I love the kid to death! He is an awesome guy. So like my best friend from the MTC, Elder Johnson is here in Constanta with me! We spend a lot of time together! I love it! Our companions say that Elder Johnson and I are the most motivated missionaries ever and they think we are going to be companions after we are done being trained! That would be awesome!!! Well... One bad thing about Constanta is it is always high 90's to low 100's with 100% humidity, so girls just walk around... ??.... haha But you just have to avert your eyes! So I bore my testimony yesterday in sacrement meeting! And after that I had a full on conversation with a member in Romanian! IT was cool! They speak sooooooo fast here! We spent a couple days in Bucharest just to kinda be orienated, and they do not speak any where near as fast as they do here in constanta. They speak the fastest than any other part of Romania. I just love it here!!!! IT is really old and dirty, but it is sooooo cool!!!!!Love you all sooo much!!! OH.... my companion's name is Elder V.

                                                 View from my apartment.

Arrived in Romania 8-5-2014

Dear Brother & Sister Everton,

We are happy to let you know that Elder Everton has survived the long flight and is here with us in Bucharest, Romania. We feel so blessed to have him with us. After much prayer and thought, your missionary will be assigned a city and a companion. We believe that we have been called to serve with your child and feel the responsibility of our stewardship. We are dedicated to help your missionary have a meaningful, spiritual mission experience.

We ask our missionaries and their families to come to this experience with energy, intelligence, and integrity. It takes hard work and sacrifice to make a mission meaningful. Please know of the love we feel toward our missionaries. We want them to succeed as individuals and companionships during their missions and throughout their lives. We will be working with them closely. We are available at all times for the missionaries and for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

We love the Lord. We believe deeply in the goodness of the gospel and the blessings that come through membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Your missionary will bring strength and courage to our mission. We look forward to developing strong testimonies through the missionary schedule of discipline and good works. Together, we will make our sacrifice holy unto the Lord.

All Our Best,



President and Sister Ivory

Hi Janae,
This is Sora (sister) Ivory in Romanian. We have had Elder Everton in our home for various meetings the past several days. He is just the best! He carries such a good spirit with him. We have been so impressed! Thank you for sharing him with us.
All My Best,
Sora Christine Ivory

                                                  After 1 1/2 days of travel- arrived safe in Romania.

                                                  President and Sister Ivory with Elder Everton

Last week in the MTC

Can you believe this??? Your little boy is going to the other side of the planet on Monday!!!! I don't know about you but I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited! I cannot wait to get there and just serve the people!! OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH I cannot wait! I just want to get there and talk to someone and show them how their lives can be sooooo much better!!! I actually have talked to an actual Romanian who does not speak English for a little while. WE skyped members in Romania last week and we are doing it again tomorrow! So much fun!!! I don't feel like the little boy who needs his mommy to do everything for him anymore! I feel like a grown man! Although my ADD has come out a little bit more since I've been here.... probably because I am sitting in the same chair for 12 hours a day... But I actually did say today as I was starting to pack my stuff that I miss having my mommy here to help me! hahahahaha ;) Well.... All I can say is that I am sick because of the food, and the language is kicking my butt right now! I mean... I know the language will come, but it is really hard! It doesn't matter that much though, because I can just talk to people through the spirit! I met with C again. He just told us more life stories... We did not have enough time to give him a lesson, so he just talked. He loves to talk!!! Even though it is really tough for him! I love his spirit even though he is not a member, he loves everyone and wants to change the world! Well I committed another "investigator" to baptism yesterday!!! It was during a super spiritual lesson in which I bore my testimony VERY strong and I shared personal experiences. I did not know the spirit could be so strong in a lesson. I looked at her and she just had the most... thoughtful look on her face.. She was almost tearing up because of the spirit in the room. My companion then looked at her and invited her to be baptized. IT has been about the third time we asked. She said yes!!! I was so relieved! She had told us she did not want to get baptized because she didn't want to leave her family and go to a different church as them. She wanted to go to church with the people she loved. So she kept denying baptism. I found out during this lesson though, that she had much more needs than what she had said. You have to use the spirit to discern what they need! The investigator is like an iceberg. You can see only a small part of their problems on the surface. What you don't know is that they have many other problems that they keep away from you beneath the surface. You need to use the Spirit to help them get past those problems. As I said, I am SOOOOO PUMPED to get to Romania! I just have so much enthusiasm! I want to be  there now so I can be saving lives!!! I can't wait to talk to the people and find out EXACTLY why I have this great love for them and this burning desire to teach them! I love you all! I hope everything is going great at home! 

Mulțumesc pentru toate lucruri ați facet pentru mine. Eu să iubesc foarte mult. Eu vreu voi să știeți că Eu sunt foarte recunoscator pentru familia mea. Și Eu sunt foarte fericit aici. La Revedere!

Translation:

Thank you for all that you do for me. I love you all very much. I want you to know that I am really grateful for my family. And I am very happy here. Good bye!!

Love you all!!!!! 

Vârstnicul Everton

                                                 Playing basketball in the MTC.  Rough sport.

Thanks Grandma Simmons!

Week 3 in the MTC

This email is going to be entirely a quote from my journal entry last night

 "Today I want to share a quote that I wrote down on a Dear Elder my mom sent me. 'Right now is probably one of the most inspirational times ever. I have never received so much personal Revelation. I need to remember this so I can hold true to these feelings.' That was at 9:50 PM on July 15 2014. This occurred while listening to a poem. I do not know the name of the poem or the name of the author, but what I do know is that it impacted my life. Hopefully I remember this FOREVER! The poem was about a missionary who was upset because nothing was going right. He kneeled down to pray and complained about everything to his Heavenly Father. He asked why? Then, as he fell asleep he had a dream. In the dream he met our Savior Jesus Christ. Christ talked to him. He said, I know exactly how you feel! He said 'Your hands hurt from knocking doors? I guess I know how you feel since my hands were nailed to a cross. Your burdens hurt your back? I know that feeling! I remember the pain from carrying the heavy cross when it was slammed on my back.' He went on to say more... Christ suffered for us. He went through SOOOOO much pain not for himself! Just because he loves me! My burdens are absolutely NOTHING compared to Jesus'! He paid the ultimate sacrifice! Not only did he suffer amazing physical pains, but he felt every emotional pain of every person who ever lived. My trials are NOTHING! I need to grow up and stop complaining! That is the least I could do to show Christ I love him! I need to serve him in ALL that I do!Jesus is my savior! I love him! I will do everything for him! I cried during this. In front of my district. I felt the Spirit so strong. The last thing the savior said to the missionary was, 'The only difference between you and I is I did not complain and I did not give up.' Never give up Davis! Press forward! Always remember Him! He is my Savior!"

Te Iubesc,

Varstnicul Everton

                                                                          Elder Everton's district

Week 2 in the MTC

Hey!

Have T read this... T... The struggle is real bro! All I can say is there were MANY times where I thought I should not go... those feelings were with me even the week before I left. You know what though? I also had times where I felt SOOO good about it! Those thoughts are from God! The negative are from Satan. Satan does not want you to be out here. He will fight, fight back! With all you've got! I can tell you it is really hard! Learning a new language is hard and frustrating! But I am the happiest I have ever been! I know this is where I need to be! Sometimes you feel you can't do it  and you wanna go home! DON'T LISTEN TO THAT!!! Trust me! This is the greatest thing ever! There is no other place we should be now! It just makes me feel sooooo happy! I love the feeling of the spirit here!

Well yesterday was amazing! Elder Anderson came and talked to us! I was in the third row right in the middle! We made eye contact :) It was so uplifting!!! It's funny... My favorite part of the devotional was not when we were listening to him talk. It was when we got together as a district after and talked. We talked about what Elder Anderson had said, but we also talked from our hearts. Varstnicul J shared something that really touched me! Please have as many people as possible read this: "We are here on Earth to make a decision. It is a huge decision. The biggest one you will ever make. You see this life is like 1, 1,000,000,000,000 of a second of our whole life. We have a lot more to come after this. While we are here on this earth we make the decision to follow Christ, or to follow Satan. There is no middle ground! You are either going forward towards God or you are going in reverse towards Satan. We need to go forward! Our life beyond the grave will be SOOOO much better if we just go forward!" That really hit me. That inspired me. I am here for a reason. Not only to continue to move forward myself, but to help others move forward. That is crazy! I have millions of people's salvation in my hands! That is a big responsibility! I need to lose myself. Forget about me right now! I will go forward automatically if I just lose myself in the work and help others! I have already noticed a huge growth in myself! And you know what? It's because I have FINALLY learned how to perform selfless service! 

Good luck on the talk mom! You guys will do amazing! Just remember mom, you can do hard things! :) You have always taught me that! Now its your turn :)

Thanks for the package! I can't wait till I get it! it makes me SOOOO happy to get stuff from you guys! You know, just kind of get my mind off of the language and see how much I am loved by you guys!

Tell the girls I love them! I miss them and hope they are doing good! Tell Connor that also! I want him to email me next week. I have some things I need to say to him! 

Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!!

Varstnicul Everton

Week one in the MTC

Dear Friends and Family,

The MTC is awesome! The food is great! my companion is great! My roommates are great! we have gotten so close over the last week!

The struggle is real you guys. Romanian is HARD!!!!!!!! It is soooo frustrating trying to learn this language! it does not make any sense to me! But! I know a lot for only being here for a week! It's awesome! The Lord really does bless us! The gift of tongues is real! It does not come all at once, but I know it does come! I am so very grateful for it! 

I have felt the spirit here like none other. Everywhere you go the spirit follows you! I have never had so much pure joy for so long at one time. The Spirit just guides me in everything I do! I feel awesome! You MUST be in tune with the spirit! That is the key! Do not think about yourself! Only others! The spirit will guide you and tell you what to do if you will just submit yourself to it!

Love you all! Sorry my email is not very long I'm running out of time! Laundry today was CRAZY!!! Love you all! miss you! 

LOVE,

Varstnicul Everton

 This picture was taken by President and Sister Ivory minutes after they arrived at the MTC.

Hi Everyone-
We were so happy to see this group of strong missionaries in the MTC before we left.
This is the first group of missionaries that will be all ours!
We love them all ready!

With love,
President and Sister Ivory