I Can't Believe I'm Twenty!

I knew the day would eventually come but I just never really wanted it to.  In two days time I will officaly enter the realms of adult hood by turning 20.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I don't want to grow up............. Alright I am better now just had to get that out of my system.  But seriously I am turning 20 and seriously I don't want to grow up, but I am going to wether I want to or not so may as well make the best of it and start demanding all the presents that this year mark entitles me to.  I am just kidding I am not that greedy as all of you know I just am still freaking out about turning 20 and how I can no longer claim innoucence.  All right I have got to stop or I never will.  So lets see to answer some questions the biggest thing here in Ruse is the Danu River and probally that it is about the second oldest city in bulgaria.  I am loving it here and luckly it hasn't got too hot yet.  So let us jump into the week shall we.

 

Monday:

After writting you guys we went and first checked how much it would cost me to tailor everything of mine so I could save accordingly (don't worry I have plenty of money mom and dad)  After that we watched a movie during the hottest part of the day and then played basketball.  Basketball was fun and it was the first time I have any sport seriously since I have lost all my wieght and yes it was easier, but no I am still out of shape.  After Basketball we came back home to shower and eat.  I was beat for the rest of the night but we still went out to work and surveyed for the rest of the night.

 

Tuesday:

After our morning studies we went out surveying for about 3 hours and then we had lunch and language study.  After lunch we had a meeting with Stefi were we taught her about the apostasy and then watched the restoration film with her.  The lesson went really well and I am amazed that I am not slaughtering everything with the language.  After the lesson we commited her to pray and come to church.  After her meeting we surveyed on the way home for dinner and then had dinner.  After dinner we met with Miroslav and basicly did the same lesson with him except we had forgoten the video so we just used joseph smith history and our on knowledge to teach the restoration.  Oh he wanted to play chess with us before the lesson so we did and even though I did try he still just slaughtered me.  It felt like I was a mouse and he was a cat and he was just playing with me.  Anyway the chess was fun and we had a good lesson with him.  The teaching procces is going slow with these two but it is going forward and they are keeping every commitment it is just their understanding that is taking a while.  After the meeting with Miroslav we went back home for bed.

 

Wednesday:

After our morning studies we had district meeting and then lunch and language study.  We then waited for a droped lesson and then we had english.  English was fun and this week I switched up to the fourth level and it was nice to be able to speak and disscuse english with the students.  They asked some hard questions though questions that I remeber that I learned in college so it was fun and nice to have intelecual conversation with some one other than another missionary.  After English we had splits so I made some pizza from dinner useing this homemade herbal salt I had picked up from Stara Zagora and oh it was delicious.  After that though I went to bed.  Oh some news my MTC companion is my District Leader so we were on splits together isn't that cool.

 

Thursday:

First it was cool to be working with Elder Hubert again, because we already knew each other so we didn't have to try to get to know each other first.  As for the day it was filled with advertising for english, surveying, and hunting for a air conditionar for my apartment since we don't have one and lets just say the weather is starting to hint at me how evil it is planning on being.  After all of this for about 6 hours we went to seminary and I was just dead and could not pay attention or understand any bulgarian.  We then finished off splits and Elder Olmstead and I went to have dinner and go to bed.

 

Friday:

Woke up and made my normal oatmeal breakfast, but when I opened my new bag of oats I found to my out most suprise that the ants and beatles had beaten me too it.  Oh if I just had some means of enacting revenge those ants would never have seen the light of day again.  Any way they ran away to fast and I don't know were the nest is so I had to chuck a full 1 kilogram bag of oats in the garbage.  Other than that the morning went as normal and I am now keeping everthing in the fridge.  After our studies we went our surveying for about two hours and then came back had lunch and langauge study followed by our weekly planning session.  After weekly planning we went surveying/airconditionar hunting again for about two hours and then had dinner and a meeting with Miroslav.  After being soundly beaten in chess again we did a lesson on the restoration and we showed him the restoration video.  After the video we bore testimony and again we emphasaized that he needed to pray with out a pre-memorized script (he used to use prayer books and now he doesn't but he still will say parts from them.)  After the lesson we commited him to come to church and then came back home to go to bed.

 

Saturday:

After our morning studies we had english and then cleaned the building.  After cleaning we were helping Mitko a member who wants to learn english a little english when the Paulsons arrived.  The Paulsons are the office couple and Ruse is their branch that they come to every once in a while.  They also brought mail with them and I got all the postcards that you sent Mom and also Morgans graduation announcement.  I also got a candy bar and a mission memory journal but they didn't know who they were from so if it was one of you guys give a shout out so I can thank you.  After reciving our mail the Pauslsons treated us to dinner and then we finished helping Mitko with english and went surveying a little bit before haveing language study and going to bed.

 

Sunday:

Was a good day.  We had church in the morning and both Stefi and Miroslav came and stayed for the whole thing and the members fellowshiped them a lot.  After church we were supposed to have a lesson with Stefi but because of after church tasks we never got around to it but it was alright because she made really good friends with the members and got to hear some cool conversion stories.  Also I did about an two hours of translating for Mitko so he could talk with Elder Paulson and one I am proud of myself that I was able to do that and second my brain was so tired after wards because of all the translating.  After we got away from church we had lunch with the other elders and then went on splits again so I could teach Elder Hubert how to do Zone Fund.  After that we went back with our regualar companions and Elder Olmsted and I went tracting and surveying for about an hour before we had dinner with the other elders and oreo shakes since we had decided to have P-day Eve.  Oh something interesting.  I found a college text book on world relegions in their apartment and I was reading it for fun!  Oh how far I have fallen, okay not really but still I did notice how I would never have done that back home.

 

Monday:

Woke up brought our stuff back to our apartment and then went shopping and had personal study and showered for the day before writting you guys.

 

Love,

Elder Austin James Ewell