This was a fun week and there are a couple of highlites. First though, we have been having spring like weather here for the last week and a half and then I look out side this morning and there was snow on the ground. I was just getting used to the warm weather as well.
Anyway lets get started with the tally of this week. Last monday we went to the zoo here and to tell the truth it was really sad and to be honest pathetic. Though it was pretty cool and I got to be there when the lions started to roar amongst themselves so that was fun. Elder Corless and I had to then go into Sofia so Elder Corless could do his passport work tomorrow so a 2 and a 1/2 hour bus ride later we are in sofia and rooming with the office elders. Come tuesday morning we go to the mission home around 8:30 were Elder Corless drops me off to spend the day while he goes with the other missionaries who had missionary work. Despite being in the mission home with everybody there I had no one to talk to because they were all busy. So I just grabed the new liahona and read through the whole thing and read some more of jesus the christ. Sounds boring but it was alright I like being in the mission home because it always busy. Elder Corless came back around 2 a clock and then we had to catch a bus to Pleven. We got home around 5:30 and then went to clean the church with Valintinia. We then tried to contact some people and went in for the night.
Now we have wonderfull Wensday. Wensday was great first we had district meeting which was fun like usual and then we had a meeting with a new Investagator named George (okay in bulgarian it is Georgi (i makes an ee sound) but the english equvilant is George.) He is an old Diyado (grandpa) and likes to talk a lot. We kept the lesson in track though and found out that he already prays. Apparntly when he is lonely he will just start talking to god. It was really cool because when we told him that was prayer he actually teard up a little. He said he would come to church but that he didn't think that any church was true but that we were the closest he has found so that was cool to. After him we had lunch and then language hour than came back down stairs to have a meeting with another new investagator named Mima. She is an english student that always tears up at spiritual thoughts and even came to church. A lot of cool things happened in this meeting so I will try to get them all in. First her only child and daughter had passed away a year ago and to cope with it she started to make poems and that the reason why she always tears up during the spiritual thoughts is that they remind her of the poems she wrote and her daughter. Then a cool story about the book of mormon, we had given her a book of mormon on sunday and she had gone home to try to read it. She didn't really like it that much and was planning on giving it back during this meeting. On wensday though before the meeting she looked at it again and found the pictures inside and reconized that they were some of the same pictures that hang up inside the church building. She had always wanted to know what they were about so she read the scriptures that were given to describe them and then read more and even marked the scriptures with different colors and very neat lines. That is rare for people here, only usually the really strong members do this. To top it all of she told us that she belived it was true because we new and 14 million other members of the church knew. So we told that she could also find out for her self through prayer taught her prayer and she said the closeing prayer and said that she would pray about the book of mormon too. Oh that was a good meeting and I can't do it justice in this letter so sorry I guess you will just have to be a missionary your self to find this kind of happieness and joy.
After our meeting with here we met with one other guy who is a big conspiriscy therist. The lesson was alright but it was hard to teach him because he would always jump in with a random theroy on about everything we said. We then did some tracting and came back home for dinner and bed.
Thursday was fun. First thing we did after studies and lunch was go street boarding. I actually got a recived all on my own in bulgarian and the guy said he would read the book of mormon, his name is I think was Geshev (I couldn't hear it all the way.) After street boarding we went and had english which is always fun. We went over the poem "The Master's Touch." It was realy good and spiritual. After english it was time for dinner and then bed. Friday has now begun. First thing we did after studies was go to visit a less-active member named Nikolie. He was the one that had such a hard time getting to church last week. So we visit him and his member mom. They fed us a delicious bean soup and then after the spiritual thought that we gave the mom wanted to play chess. So I played chess with her while Elder Corless talked with Nikolie. I barely won and only because she helped me a little bit. After I finished we still had time before our bus so she played Elder Corless and I talked with Nikolie in english. After the game we went and caught our bus and then when we got back home we had a meetting with a investagator but he was to busy and couldn't show. So instead we planned for the week had language study, dinner, and went to bed.
Saturday the day befor Sunday. First thing after studies on saturday was english. We tried to teach them how to make a poem but it didn't go overthat well so we will try somthing different next week. After english I went on splits with Elder Brinkerhoff. We tried to survey but it was so windy that nobody was out and all who were wouldn't talk with us. So we came back and Elder Corless and I went to meet with some potentionals to find out that that they only want to hang out. So after this "meeting" we went tracting for the rest of the night. Sunday another huge highlite. First normally we only have around 15 people at church and that is including us missionaries.
So this Sunday it was branch confrence and so President Roth was coming into pleven with some guests from Sofia. So we had been telling every member, investagator, english student, and hopefull to please come because of this and lets just say our efforts gave forth fruit. To give you the number we had 34 people there! we actually would have ran out of room if even one more person had showed up we were packed in so tight. It was really amazing an so cool. We had investagators there, english students, and a ton of other people. Even everyone that me and Elder Corless had asked came. That is the biggest highlight. Church went great besides this and I hope it really touched the hearts of some of the ones present. After church the Roths checked our apartment for cleanlyness and we passed and then because Elder Corless had a musical number on the Cello that he was doing for Zone confrence on monday we got to ride with them to Sofia. In Sofia President Roth began doing interviews so while Elder Corless found music and practiced I socialized with the other missionaries there for interviews and then we went to the office elders apartment were there was 8 missionaries. It was a riot but still lots of fun.
Now onto Monday. Monday was a lot of fun and the Zone Confrence was really inspiring and uplifting. It is kind of sad that the First Presidentsy has said that we can only have 4 a year now but I belive they know what they are doing. I don't want to type everything that happened because there was a lot and I am running out of time, but I will say that I left with a greater determination to put forth my complete effort into this work. After the Zone Confrence we cleaned up got some needed supplies and bused back to Pleven. Once home we tracted a little bit and then went to have dinner and bed.
That was basiclly my week and thank you all for your letters. You may think that your day to day life is boring but it isn't for me because it is different than what I do. It's kind of like how I think that every day is just another day of missionary work, but I know that you guys don't think so. So I am putting forth my best effort to share things that may be common day to me but aren't to you. So please write me letters if you aren't and if you are please write more because even if you did just go to the movies or just work I am interested and tell me what happend at work. If you have a hard time remebering than keep and journal and then when you write me use it to refresh your memory. So please write more I would really aprecciate it even if it is something as mundane as I ate a bowl of cereal today.
Love,
Austin James Ewell
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