Back in Bacau!

Dear loved ones:

   Howdy! How are you all? I'm doing well. Just having a blast in the craziest winter Eastern Europe has seen in a long time. So I hear that the Danube River is frozen, and even the Black Sea is partially frozen. It's sad that there have been deaths due to exposure in the cold. I have been safe here in Craiova. It has snowed without end for a couple days now. It is about 2 or so feet of snow! It's cold, but I am sporting the Ecco boots and "Thermasilk" thermals (as well as my other pair) and I'm staying nice and warm. It's been a good week with Elder Abbott. We had ZL exchanges finally! I got to be with Elder Johnsen one last day. He's going home in 2 days. It was a good exchange. We knocked blocs, had Celentano pizza for lunch, and had a nice visit at the Radulescu's. Oh yeah, I also got a pretty big phone call from President Hill: "Hello!" "Hey President, this is Elder Lee, how are you?" "I'm doing well, you?" "good, just on exchange with Elder Johnsen and all" "Cool. Well, I'm calling you because we'd like you to be the new branch president in Bacau!" "Oh, sweet (I guess). Yeah, I'll do it!" "Ok, we'd like you to go there and see what you can do with the branch there...." "Sure, I'll see what I can do, I guess" So yeah, I'll be going back to Bacau as the new Branch President! I'll be serving with Elder Peterson (with whom I served in Buc in the summer--he's super cool) Elder Bruner (the current BP there) is finally done, after 8 long months of service there! He'll be going to Brasov, so now it's my turn to be in his place. I guess I was pretty surprised, but I had considered the possibility of going there earlier. For some reason, I felt totally fine with the phone call and with saying "yeah, I'll do it". So, I guess the boboc is going back to be the branch president. How poetic.

   Transfers are pretty crazy this transfer. Elder Abbott is actually leaving to Pitesti (to be with Elder Bateman). So we're whitewashing Craiova. Elders Finch and Staheli will be coming here. The zones are kinda changed too a bit. Bucharest will be its own zone (including Panduri, Mihai Bravu, Craiova, and Alexandria). There will now be Ploiesti Zone (including Ploiesti, Pitesti, Constanta, and Brasov) Deva is now in the Sibiu zone. The Bacau Zone is now the Iasi Zone. You know what that means? The zone leaders are leaving Bacau to be in Iasi now. That also means that Bacau is now a 2-man city! It will be only Elder Peterson and me. More 2-man city antics for me! Lots of changes eh? That's what keeps my mission exciting! It's really been a roller coaster ride since I started. There will be 3 bobocs coming in-- Elders Newton, Nelson, and Schroedter will be training them in Oradea, Sibiu, and Buc. Elder Simmons is the new AP now. He's a cool elder.

   So yeah, everybody can call me President now. I am excited to go back and see things in Bacau again. However, I'll admit that I kinda wanted to see a new city. But, the Lord has other plans for me. I don't know how long I'll be there in Bacau. Possibly until the end of my mission. I'll now be in my 12th transfer. I talked to Elder Bruner on the phone a couple days ago, and he said the branch has been having problems and even may potentially be shut down! I'm a little bit concerned about that. I guess I'll see what happens when I get there. It was tiny and had problems when I was there before. Elder Bruner has really helped it, but recently, problems have arised again. I don't really know what I can do to save a branch, but I guess I'll give it a shot. I'm happy to be serving with Elder Peterson.

    We had a good last church here in Craiova. Elder Abbott and I both gave talks and both gave the Sunday School lesson. In my talk, I shared some things from Elder Andersen's "You Know Enough" talk. It's funny that he became an Apostle after that talk. I really like that talk. It's true. The Spooner's had us over for lunch! They made pork roast with carrots and potatoes, rolls, and sugar cookies. Tasty stuff! We showed them some of our pictures and had a good time. We've met with Gina the past couple of days. She'll miss us. But, she'll make good friends with the other two coming in. I'll miss this branch and Elder Abbott a ton. It's been a blast here and I've learned a lot.

   It's good to hear that folks at home are doing well. I'm excited for Chase to leave soon. He'll do great, I hope Elder Knapp is enjoying the MTC. He'll be here before he knows it. Hopefully by then, things won't be so freezing and white. I hope to get that Valentine's package at transfers in 2 days. Thanks mom and dad. So yeah, I'll be thinking of classes for BYU soon, and can do my own registering. Should be so much fun (not really). Haha. I have only 6 months left! I still have a lot of important things to do and learn. I love my mission. I have grown immensely. It's been such a molding experience. I'm thankful that I am learning things here that are important for my future. I'm also glad to invite others to accept, live, and receive the blessings of living the Gospel. Well, I'm gonna peace out. Have a good week. I'll let you know how Bacau is next week. Va iubesc! We'll talk. Ciao!

Love, Elder (President) Lee