5th Edition

the almost monthly

Builders Not Caretakers

By Sister Ivory

THE ROMANIA MOLDOVA

MISSION STATEMENT

We Will Be the Most Positive

Mission on the Planet!

On his visit in November, Elder Kearon told the

Romania Moldova Mission, We are builders,
not caretakers. This statement has become
our mission battle cry partly because President
Ivory knows a little about the building process,
and partly because we know the concept of
building is exactly what Romania and Moldova
need in this moment.

We invite all of our friends

to have a positive view about God,
about ones self and about the world. Leaving our mission better than we found it is

what we do as missionaries. Progress means

that we will continue to get better and better
Our faith in the restored Gospel
as individuals and as a Church. Strengthening
of Jesus Christ causes us to make members, inviting less-actives back in to the
fold, finding, teaching, and baptizing new
positive changes
in our lives and in the lives of others. members build the Church here in substantial
ways. Sacrament attendance has increased
fifteen percent since last year, indicating
As we repent and help others repent, sustained growth and commitment.

we serve with full purpose of heart

and
leave bad habits behind.
We believe in the promises of our
apostles to the people of Romania
and the Republic of Moldova:

Because we have creative courage

to come unto Christ we will receive
wisdom, vision and power to build
the Churchthat stakes may be
organized.

The Church in Romania and Moldova is still in the initial stages of development and
growth. Every effort at this point matters because we are working to sure up the
foundation of the Gospel. The foundation is the most essential part of the building
process.
We continue to shape the foundation that so many others before us established. Strong
members and obedient missionaries pioneer through obstacles. As part of our pioneer
heritage, we understand that putting one foot in front of the other and moving ahead
with faith eventually gets us to the promised land. Incremental improvement and
loyalty to the day-to-day tasks of missionary service will provide sustainable growth.
And we are growing! The Lord is with us. He blesses us daily with goodness and hope.
We will continue to serve with full purpose of heart, and He will continue to help us
build the Church in the Romania Moldova Mission. Whereever we find ourselves, let
us always remember to make our little spot in the world better than we found it, to be
builders and not just caretakers, and to move the Gospel forward one step at a time.

Together, we will influence positive

change and we will find great
happiness as we help build Christs
restored Church in Romania and in
the Republic of Moldova.

Please reference Elder Russell M. Nelsons

dedicatory prayer for Romania and Elder M.
Russell Ballards dedicatory prayer for Moldova.
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The Arad District

By Elder and Sister Smith

A Case Study In Becoming a Team that is who added the twist that fun is an important addition to
Fittingly Yoked Together in the Lords Service love. For as Elder Robinson says, we are a tight, close district.
Our story begins with our wonderful missionaries last fall, Today it is a natural part of our day to express love for each
including Elder Boydstun, a district leader who wanted to other, to pray daily and specifically for each other and for all of
understand and to better apply the Infinite Atonement, and our investigators by name and for the leaders and members
Sister Nicole Smith, a sister missionary who wanted to end of our branch. The natural outgrowth of this is spontaneous
her mission by sprinting through the finish line. Our story expressions of love to those around us. It is amazing to see
continues today--not at its end but as it is still unfolding. Our what happens in response.
story contains four major principles our district has learned.
These principles are now beginning to impact the branch we Galations 6:2
Bear ye one anothers burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
are a part of and for which we have been called to serve.
Following these principles has resulted in our own greater
conversion and commitment as missionaries. It has also
resulted in the acceptance of the Gospel message by five new
Latter-Day Saints in Arad, with more to come.

We now consider investigators to be a district responsibility.

While a companionship may have the primary responsibility
to teach and monitor the development of an investigator, all of
us together share the responsibility to help each investigator
progress. A few months ago one of the sisters investigators
was having a serious crisis of faith. We met together as a
district to discuss the problem and to think of ways to address
it. We finally determined to all visit the investigator together
and to have the district leader review with her the baptismal
interview questions--even though she was not yet ready for
baptism. As she responded to the questions she realized that
she did have a testimony of the restored Gospel, of living
prophets, and of the Book of Mormon. She was baptized a few
weeks later. To quote Sister Gibson, I like how every single
missionary is involved with every investigator. Or as Sister
Dupont says, our district is like a family. We love each other.
We pray and fast for each other. We get things done.

The Arad District works as a team to help build the Branch in Arad.

D&C 112:14
...Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, follow me,
and feed my sheep.

Following are illustratations of each principle with examples:

D&C 121: 45
Let thy bowels also be full of charity...then shall thy confidence
wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the
of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from
heaven [and] the Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion...
Elder Boydstun taught us that we often have to understand
a principle in our minds before we can apply it in our hearts.
As a district we determined that our primary desire was to be
effective tools in the hands of the Lord and to thereby bring
souls unto Him. Sister Smith along with her companions Sister
Cox and then Sister Routson taught us that consistent and
constant hard work coupled with confidence eventually brings
miracles. As a result we saw a nineteen-year-old woman join
the Church after six months plus of study and the 75-year-old
husband of a long time member join the Church after years of
patient waiting.
1 John 3:11
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that
we should love one another.

Elders Chatterton and Robinson have a nineteen-year-old

investigator whose family does not want him to be baptized.
He has accepted all the lessons and desires to become a
member of the Church. As a district we decided to treat him like
a member. He teaches us from the Gospel Principles manual
several times each week, helps us teach English classes, and
participates in YSA and Branch activities. We and the YSA
youth helped him celebrate his birthday. Unfortunately, he felt
embarrassed and even distraught at a recent branch activity
because he is not a member and because it hurts to see
member families at church together. We explained that to the
Elders Quorum President, who with the branch first counselor,
successfully helped to console him. Its nice when members of
the branch join the team.
In conclusion, Sister Gibson says it best. We play together,
pray together, eat together, and serve together. We support
each other. And that works!

As time progressed Elders McArthur and Dunkley taught us

that love begins at home. Their example taught us to express
love for each other - and really mean it. They taught us that
acts of kindness bring thoughts of friendship and appreciation
which result in the sincere desire to help and accept, which
gives birth to true Christlike love. Their example has been
emulated and expanded by Elders Chatterton and Robinson,
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President Monson Recalls the Builders in the

St. Thomas Branch in Canada
Taken From a Video Clip of President Thomas S. Monson

During the time Sister Monson

and I served in the Canadian
Mission, we were witness to and
strengthened by the deep faith of
the Canadian Saints.
Evidence of faith took place when
I first visited the St. Thomas Branch
of the mission, situated about 120
miles from Toronto. My wife and
I had been invited to attend the
branch sacrament meeting and
to speak to the members there.
As we drove along a fashionable street, we saw many church
buildings and wondered which one was ours. None was. We
located the address which had been provided and discovered
it to be a decrepit lodge hall. Our branch met in the basement
of the decrepit lodge hall and was comprised of perhaps
25 members, 12 of whom were in attendance. The same
individuals conducted the meeting, blessed and passed the
sacrament, offered the prayers, and sang the hymns.
At the conclusion of the services, the branch president, Irving
Wilson, asked if he could meet with me. At this meeting, he
handed to me a copy of the Improvement Era, forerunner of
todays Ensign magazine. Pointing to a picture of one of our
chapels in Australia, a new chapel, President Wilson declared,
This is the building we need here in St. Thomas.
I smiled and responded, When we have enough members
here to justify and to pay for such a building, I am sure we
will have one. At that time, the local members were required
to raise 30 percent of the cost of the site and the building, in
addition to the payment of their tithing and other offerings.
President Wilson countered, Our children are growing to
maturity. We need this building, and we need it now!
I provided encouragement for them to grow in numbers by
their personal efforts to fellowship and to teach. The outcome,
brothers and sisters, is a classic example of faith coupled with
effort and crowned with testimony.

President Wilson requested six additional missionaries be

assigned to the city of St. Thomas. When this was accomplished,
he called the missionaries to a meeting in the back room of
his small jewelry store, where they knelt in humble prayer.
At the conclusion of the prayer, he then asked one elder to
hand to him the yellow-page telephone directory, which was
on a nearby table. President Wilson took the book in hand
and observed, If we are ever to have our dream building in
St. Thomas, we will need a Latter-day Saint to design it. Since
we do not have a member who is an architect, we will simply
have to convert one. With his finger moving down the column
of listed architects, he paused at one name and said, This is
the one we will invite to my home to hear the message of the
Restoration.
President Wilson followed the same procedure with regard
to plumbers, electricians, and craftsmen of every description.
Nor did he neglect other professions, feeling a desire for a wellbalanced branch. The individuals were invited to his home
to meet the missionaries, the truth was taught, testimonies
were born, and conversion resulted. Those newly baptized
then repeated the procedure themselves, inviting others to
listen. Week after week and month after month the procedure
continued.
The St. Thomas Branch experienced marvelous growth.
Within two and one-half years, a site was obtained, a beautiful
building was constructed, and an inspired dream became a
reality. That branch is now a thriving ward in a stake of Zion.
When I reflect on the town of St. Thomas, I dwell not on the
wards hundreds of members and many dozens of families;
rather, in memory I return to that sparse sacrament meeting in
the lodge-hall basement, 12 people, and the Lords promise,
Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).
Many years have passed since that video was recorded. The
voice you heard was younger, but the principle of faith as it
pertains to missionary work remains just as true today as it
was half a century ago in the St. Thomas Branch.

BEDNARQuote
ELDER
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If we always do what we have always done, then we will always get what we have always
gotten. May I suggest that what we have always done and always gotten were good in their
time but need to improve as the Lord is quickening the pace. The Lords hastening of His work
requires us continuously to learn, to change, and to press forward with faith in the Savior.

Prepare to Learn

Invite to Act

Interact to Edify

Excerpts from Elder Bednars Training of New Mission

Presidents Learning and Teaching in the Lords Way.

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The Couples Corner

By Elder and Sister Alson

There just may not be words to express our tender emotions as we leave our beloved Romania
Moldova Mission and the indelible impression it and especially you have left on our hearts.
What a wonderful blessing this experience has been in our lives. Our testimonies have grown,
our hearts have been filled and our understanding expanded. We have a greater appreciation
for young missionaries and the sacrifices they make to further the work of the Lord in bringing
the restored Gospel to those who so desperately need it. We have enjoyed the tender embrace
of the promptings of the spirit as we have tried to do our best. We have been inspired by your
courage, and the courage of the faithful members of the branches as you and they have battled
what appears to be, on the surface, a most improbable task. But the promises of the Lord are
sure and success is guaranteed.
We share with gratitude some of our special memories. When we asked a faithful 60-year old
member who rode her bike 4-5 miles to church every Sunday all dressed in her Sunday clothes
and without a hair out of place, how she did it. She said, God and I have a deal, it never rains on
my way to church. When we asked an elderly brother in the branch, a convert of 5 years who
had crippling arthritis and could barely walk, how he made it to church faithfully every Sunday, he simply said, When I was
baptized I made a covenant. We watched a faithful member of a branch give his only couch to another member of the branch
that he believed needed it more than he did. We speak of these memories with tears in our eyes and have asked ourselves,
would we be so faithful if we were asked to walk in their shoes? What wonderful, courageous and faithful people we have been
called to serve.

Enjoy with us our last week in Romania as we were blessed to be a part of the baptism of a wonderful man and his two sons
in the Black Sea. The outside temperature was 60 degrees and the water temperature was 41 degrees, but somehow the spirit
was strong and the overall feeling was tender and warm. May the lord continue to bless the Romania Moldova Mission and its
incredible missionaries!

Easter In Romania

Sisters Mits and Lunt encounter the Easter

Bunny at Cismigiu Park

Sisters Elliott and Bischoff streetboard contacting with

an Easter message in Chisinau
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Sister Doyna and Ellis sharing

the tradition of cracking eggs

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The English Explosion

President Ivory challenged every branch to increase its English class attendance
ten-fold. In order to do this, the curriculum has been edited and improved,
Facebook pages have been created, and targeted marketing efforts have
been increased. Our missionaries are approaching English classes with greater
purpose. While our focus is on creating a high-quality experience, we have
seen an increase in church attendance and many of our students have become
friends who are learning more about the Gospel.
Posters have worked really great. They have been the most effective
form of advertising--Elder Alfin
We have been hanging-up our posters inside of colleges and high
schools--Elder DeGraw
Each branch or area has created
a Facebook page and so far the
various Engleza Gratuit pages
have just under 12,000 likes.

Cursurile vor avea loc:

ncepnd cu data de:

17 Martie

Mari ntre orele:

17:00-18:00

Smbt ntre orele:

12:00 - 13:00

Engleza Gratuita
Bucureti
http://www.englezagratuit.ro

timp de patru sptmni.

Numr de telefon:

0753.058.806

Locaie: Panduri-

os. Panduri Nr. 16

Biserica lui Isus Hristos a Sfinilor din Zilele din Urm

In Chisinau, we used Facebook to find

450 English students and tons of
investigator friends! We worked together
as a district to make the idea happen
and show the students how much we love
the Gospel. --Elder Bateman
Under the direction of Sora Ivory, the missionaries updated the english curriculum.
A curriculum change allowed us to be more engaged and better prepared in our
classes. We focused on two things; determining the needs of our classes and how we
could best provide them with a meaningful experience. --Elder Armistead

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Real Growth

Melinda Iuliana Craciun faithfully decided to follow her Lorica Mocanu, was baptized in to the Panduri branch on Diana Raetchi was baptized in Chisinau on February 27,
Savior and be baptized on April 4, 2015 in Arad. She plans to March 7, 2015. After praying for guidance, Lorica found the 2015. Her desire to get closer to God is what helped her
serve Him as a missionary some day.
Gospel and accepted it immediately.
gain a rock solid testimony!

Steve Hannesson and his two sons, Joshua (13) and Tyler (10) were baptized in the Black Sea on March 30, 2015.

Gheorghe (Ghiti) Aioanei was baptized in Arad on March

14, 2015

Trifon Baciu was baptized on April 11, 2015 in Chiinau. Cristina and Andre Borbea were baptized by their father on Ecaterina was baptized on April 18, 2015. She is so happy
After praying, an overwhelming power came over him, April 12, 2015 in Braov. They are excited that the Gospel of and says she has found a little island of heaven in Chisinau
prompting him to be baptized.
Jesus Christ can unite their family for eternity.

Spring Concert in the Park

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Happenings Around the Mission

The Rutley Family from the
UK Visit The Peoples Palace in
Romania

David and Rachel Rutley, President an d Sister Ivorys close

friends, presented at Zone Conference in Bucharest

Sister Ivory Presenting at Zone

Conference in Cluj
Transfer Day

Ellis Skiing with the Rutley Family

Sunset over the lake at

Herastrau Park

D is for President Doru

Sisters Tanner and Seare

with Elena Alexandroia

President Ivory with his Dad in front of

the transfer board

Enjoying time with President Ivorys Parents , who spoke

at Zone Conferences in Cluj and Chisinau during their visit

Zone Conference in Chisinau

Ellis and Meg (President and Sister Ivorys Niece

who is helping out in the mission until July)

Our beautiful reception area at the new mission office

New intensive trainer training at the
new mission office

Visiting the
Cominescu Family
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Dinner at the mission home with Egmont and

Corina Passasu...Egmont was a freedom
fighter during the revolution

Freedom Fighters
During the Revolution
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Arrivals

We are excited to welcome this great group of new missionaries to The Most Postitive Mission on the Planet!

Our Awesome March Arrivals

March 3, 2015--President and Sister Ivory greet new missionaries at the Airport in Bucharest--Elders Blaylock, Cressman, Erickson,
Simmons, Myers and Sisters Smith, Spangler, Draper, Harper, Smullin and Dupont

Our Amazing April Arrivals

March 3-4, 2015--Our new arrivals join their trainers on the traditional run with President Ivory through Herastrau Park and at the
mission home for new missionary orientation

April 14, 2015--President and Sister Ivory along with Ellis welcome a wonderful group of new missionaries--Elders Lafoou, Cochran,
Jardine, Woodruff, Swafford, Paterson, Nango, Seaich, Jensen, Cernat and Sisters Lunt, Mits, Moon, and Brinkman

April 14, 2015--Our new arrivals in front of the mission office and with their trainers on the traditional run with President Ivory
through Herastrau Park.
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Departures

Our departing missionaries join our new arrivals in Chismigiu Gardens for a reading of the dedicatory prayers of Romania and
Moldova. We are so thankful for the service provided by these wonderful departing missionaries and wish them every success
as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

March Departures - Sisters Bray, Merkley OBrien and Elders April Departures - Sisters Bird, Bischoff, Bynum, Hovey, Tanner
and Elders Cloward, Danielson, DeGraw, Feil, Harper, Lake,
Collison, Hokkanen, VanDyke and Jarmin.
Mayans, McAllister, McArthur, Middlebrook, Montoya and Reed.
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