Tuesday, November 25, 2013
Dear Family!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! Wow Thanksgiving is already here!! Soon it's going to be Christmas!! WAAHOO!!! This week was a pretty good week. I guess I can start by telling you guys about what is going to happen next transfer!! Guesses anyone? Cause I promise you won't get it ha ha so on the day when the transfer board was going to come out Pres. Hill called us and told me that I'm going to be going to Buchurest, I'm going to be whitewashed, and my companion is a brand new missionary. I'M TRAINING ... AGAIN!!! I didn't think I would ever be training again! I'm excited though to be going to Buch for a couple of reasons. I have heard that Buchurest is a cool city. There are two branches there. One in a place called Mihai Bravu and the other in Panduri. I'm going to the branch in Panduri. As for here in Sibiu, Elder Covey is staying and Elder Myler is going to be taking my spot here. 

Map from Sibiu to Bucharest

I'm going to try seeing if Elder Knapp can make something delicious for Thanksgiving because Elder Knapp is going to be in Buch too!! Knapp is over in Mihai Bravu, but It's not too difficult to coordinate some type of dinner! The other thing that's cool about having Elder Knapp in Buch is that I'm going to see him right before he leaves to go back home! He is leaving halfway through this transfer to be home for Christmas. 

Let's see what else happened this week . . . I had a member exchange with Eugen! Eugen really really wanted to do an exchange with me. So I went with Eugen for a couple of hours when Covey went with the Branch President. On our little exchange we went to the park and chalked the Plan of Salvation on the ground! It was pretty fun! I took a couple pictures of it so I will try and send them today or sometime later this week. It was pretty fun.  This week at church was pretty good! There were more investigators there than members! We had a total of about 20 people at church. Basically for the 3rd or 4th time of the transfer I gave a talk. It was nice though because I was leaving the branch so I got to get up and tell them about how much I will miss Sibiu. And then of course after my talk Eugen came up and told me all the romanian mistakes that I made (again!). It was good though! 

I love you tons

Monday, November 18, 2013
Dear Family!!

Hello there everyone!!! I'm glad I made your week my sending those pictures! I realize that I don't take enough pictures . . . but oh well. Maybe before my mission ends I will realize all the stuff I need to take pictures of and then just takes millions of pictures!! ha ha Yeah we are still teaching the english classes. We just teach really beginner things. Like on saturday we were teaching the phrase "I like to ..." because it's different to say it in Romanian. In Romanian they say "It pleases me to . . . " (kind of sensual right?) so we just taught them that. It was funny though because one person was like "I like to watch to TV" Cause in Romanian they would say "to TV" instead of "the TV". It's kind of funny to see how romanians would say english stuff . . . and then I remember that I probably sound the same to them with Romanian ha ha 

So this week we find out about the transfer board and then transfers are the day before thanksgiving! So to be honest I think I am going to be leaving Sibiu and go to some different city for Thanksgiving. But we will see what happens. I'll try not to open the Christmas Presents!! But I need to know . . . Am I allowed to open the box and then just some of the stuff that is wrapped up or am I just not allowed to open the package at all! I need to know these things cause there was a great miscommunication last year!! ha ha 

This week we did a ton of missionary work! We had a total of 6 lessons and 19.5 hours of contacting. The most I have ever had in a single week in both of those categories all in the same week. I'm always doing some type of missionary work with Elder Covey. I guess it's good cause we get to just work a lot. This past week the AP's came to Sibiu and I had a good exchange with Elder Davis. It was kind of fun being with him again for a day. This sunday was funny ha ha so the branch president had to be at work so I presided and conducted the meeting! It was kind of fun. Then I was basically the one teaching Sunday School. It's kind of fun to be able to serve in all these little ways that I don't think other missionaries have the chance to do. Like what other missionary has the chance to conduct, preside, bless the sacrament, and teach sunday school?! It's kind of cool :) 

The language is going good. It's always good to understand what people are saying. Like the other day we were talking to this guy on the street and he started to tell us this joke and I understood the whole joke! And I laughed super hard because it was kind of funny, but mostly because I just could understand what it was! I'll have to tell you the joke sometime. I'd write it but I don't feel like writing the whole joke. It's too workfull. I just have to soak up this opportunity to be surrounded by these natives!

Anywho, I love you tons.

Sunday, November 17. 2013
Pictures from Elder Barney

P-Day: On the way to Cristian, Romania

Fortified Saxon Church, Cristian, Romania 

On the way to Sibel,Romania 

Elder Josh Barney

Elder Slemboski, Eugen, Elder Barney - Sibiu, Romania

Sisters & Elders - Sibiu

   Elders & Sisters - Sibiu

Elder Barney, Elder Covey, President and Sora Hill, 

and Sister Missionaries

Elder Covey and Elder Barney

Monday, November 11, 2013
Dear Family!!!

Well hello there everyone! Yeah the english classes are always good. Things are still going for us. We have had a couple of lessons this past week. 3 to be exact. Hopefully we can get at least one progressing investigator out of them. Yeah yeah I'm still trying to keep up a journal!!! I'm writing down all the good stuff that happens ha ha cause to be honest . . . I forget things pretty easily!! ha ha 

Yeah I definitely understand how a European mission is a hard one!! ha ha It sounds like Hungary and Bulgaria would be a hard one. I guess I didn't really realize that President Wilstead is like right next to Romania ha ha he is just a hop, skip, and a jump away! That's crazy though that the government won't let them go up and talk to people about the church. I mean, we don't have permission to do lots of stuff, but whatever. One thing that we have done a lot is having a "survey" to where we stop people and ask them a couple questions about churches. So yeah Europe is hard . . . but at the same time I wouldn't see myself in any other mission or place. I LOVE IT HERE!!! Yeah I was on LDS.ORG the other day and I read that stuff was going down over there in the Philippines. I'm going to have to send Tylan a little email to see what's up. That would be crazy to say that I live through a Typhoon! 

YEAH!!! Another package!!! I always love those packages!! I will definitely try to send you a picture sometime soon in the next couple of days for the Christmas Card. So transfers are going to be the day before Thanksgiving! So we will eventually get the Ensign in a hard copy but it will be a little longer before we get them. It's just kind of random on when we get them as missionaries. 

Hmm lets see what else happened this week . . . we had our interviews with President and Sora Hill this past week! It was pretty good. It's always nice meeting up with them. Another thing is that I gave another talk yesterday at church! I gave one like 2-3 weeks ago but since Sandu (the branch president) couldn't get a hold of some members, he just asked Covey and I to give some talks. So it was pretty good. I just gave a simple talk on faith. 

Love you all so so much! 

Monday, November 4, 2013
Dear Family!! 

Hello there everyone!! Things are still going. We started english classes this past week. The first day was a great success because our whole sacrament room was full of english students! So somewhere between 20-30 people or so. So lots of people came!!  On saturday we only had like 8 people come. But oh well. Maybe there will be more people who come on tuesday so we will just see what happens. 

It was kinda different yesterday at church because the branch president wasn't able to come . . . which since I'm the first counselor I basically was the one presiding at the meeting. Covey was the one who conducted the meeting. It was just weird that I was kind of like the "substitute leader" of the branch for a day. Gotta love small branches! 

I love you all so so so much!!!! :)