Hello everybody and WHY CAN'T SPRING STAY WARM!!!!!

Well as you can tell from the subject heading it has just recinetly turned could again. Other than that it was a good week this week and I will begin to tell it to you now.

Monday:
After writting you guys we turned in our english posters to the people who would put them up for us since it is illigal here in Pleven to do it your self. We then got hair cuts and watched a movie with the other elders. We had to leave earlier than normal because we had to bus into Sofia that night. Elder Corless had passport work on tuesday in the morning so we had to be there early. So we got changed and took the two hour bus ride to Sofia. Once there we went to the mission home were I picked up your package dad. Thanks for everything you are the best. Anyway after getting the packege and the newest liahona we went to the office elders apartment and went to bed.

Tuesday:
We got up got ready and went to the mission home. Once there Elder Corless met up with Elder Randle and they went off to do passport work. Right before they left Elder Randle realized that he had forgotten his phone in Mladost so me and his companion had to go get it. Mladost is a section of Sofia that is an hour away from the mission home (Sofia is huge.) So for basiclly the entire day we traveled all the way to Mladost, searched for the phone, and came back to the mission home the same time Elder Corless was returning from passport work. We had to wait about an hour before there was a bus back to Pleven so we ate the left over meal that Sister Roth had cooked for the Corelation meeting that they had had. After eating we caught our bus back home and then tried to contact Mary again. She was actually home but she was also having dinner so we asked for her phone number and we actually got it so now we can just call and have no more suprised visits. After Mary we went to clean the church with Valintina. When we got there there was a drunk outside the church singing some song about God and Jesus. He was actually very funny. After cleanning though he still wouldn't leave and we didn't know what to do so Valintina who works as a bartender part-time said she would handle it. So she went out and said to him "Come on, lets go drink for Jesus." and "Come on, we are going to drink and sing all night." We could barely control our laughter because Valintina is a big introvert and is very awkwerd in social situations but has a huge testimony and is a amazing member. So to just hear her say that was funny and totally against the character that we were used to. Anyway the drunk followed her and when we last saw her it looked like she had lost him, but we don't know and we forgot to ask her on sunday. We wanted to because she is such a humble and nice person that we can very easily see her taking the drunk back home and taking care of him. Anyway she is perfectly fine and can handle herself so we aren't worried.

Wednsday:
First thing after our morning studies was district meeting. District meeting was fun and after wards we went up stairs and made pizza together. After lunch Elder Corless and I had a meeting with Yordan and a friend of his who wanted help with english. Yordan is a less-active 17 year old that we have been working with. He had promised to come to church if we helped him so we agreed too. It was fun his friend basiclly new only the ABC's and that is it but we are used to that. After helping them we had a meeting with Mima were we answered some of her questions that she had in the restored gospel pamphlet and got her to commit to reading from 3 nephi to the end of the book of mormon. After our meeting with Mima we were discussing a time we could meet with her next when Angelina came in with an apple (this is important don't for get) for her meeting. We finished up and then met with Angelina. We taught her follow the prophet, tithing, keep the sabbath day holy, and went over the Baptismal questions. After meeting with her and everything seems to be on tract with her baptizim we went and met with the Lazarovie family which is a old couple that seems a little intrested and the grandma has been reading from the Book of Mormon. We only got to talk a little and then a friend of theirs came over who had seen the other elders before (weird but intresting) to watch a turkish soap oprea in bulgarian that everybody here watch's. In fact Elder Corless thinks that he is a regular watcher of that show because he has seen so many people watch it that he is very familiar with it. Anyway we left shortly after because we had to come home to bed and we couldn't teach them with the soap on anyways.

Thursday:
Thursday was english tastic. Basicly we spent the first half of the day fixing a test for the first level english class and the seconded half teaching english class. Elder Rowden and I tried to teach about some superstions to get them talking but it failed. O cool thing I found "Finding Neverland" with bulgarian subs this day as well.

Friday:
We planned for the week then did Zone fund and then had the baptism interview with Angelina. She did great in the interview apparntly and then Yordan came in afterwards and we talked with them for a while. We then went tracting and got a really cool recive before going to bed. It was from this lady who used the be the curches realistate agent when it first came to Pleven.

Saturday:
We had a chance to befriend Yordan and get Gena, Yordan, and Angelina together and hope that they became friends. So we took it. It was basicly playing soccer with them for a while. It was nice and it showed us the Angelina will be able to survive in the branch and make friends. After soccer we came back home changed and then got ready for english and taught it. Also Elder Brinkerhoff made this amazing carrot cake that tasted so good.

Sunday:
Church was good. President Korladov came up too to do a inspection of the building and any minor/major repairs that might need to be done. Every thing went well though and is fine. Mima, Angelina, Teodor, and a guy that we had tracted into at the begining of the transfere came to church. This guys name is Valintine and we actually got an e-mail from him saying that he wants to learn more so hopefully this works out. After church we had lunch with Mima and her husband and found out that we might be losing Mima. What had happened is that she was offended and hurt that one Gena who is a member was being rude (just being a typical teenager) and that Angelina had brought food to eat infront of somebody with out shareing (this is extreamly rude in bulgaria, but she didn't eat till midway through when we told her it was fine to, though Mima didn't know this,) and she is going to be baptized (and she acted like a typical teenager with Gena.) We were able to calm her down a little but it is still up in smoke about what will happen our not. It just goes to show you never know when your example is going to influnce someone for the bad or good, so always be good. After meeting with them and actually teaching her husband the first lesson we went to the Lazarovie's again and actually got to teach them. We taught them the basic story of the book of mormon. Funny thing actually when we started out the wife got the story confused with Moses and the exoudos of the Israelites from Egypt and got Moses' name mixed up with Jacobs. Other than that the meeting went well.

Monday (Today):
Back to cold weather and before writing you guys we cleaned, shopped, and studied. We plan on watching movies because Elder Rowden is sick and needs to rest.

That is my week and sorry it is short this week.

Love,
Austin James Ewell