We were able to watch the Draper Temple Dedication by satellite, where we had roughly 5,000 missionaries in one room watching it, and joining in the Hosana Shout which was an amazing thing to behold. It's so cool that we are going out into the far reaches of the world to proclaim Hosana's and to teach the truth to all that would hear that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is restored to the earth, that God lives, and that Families can be together forever if we would just follow the pattern God has given us to live. What an amazing promise, and I am so grateful for that promise. It was neat too, that Pres. Monson said the dedicatory prayer, and in it he blessed the missionaries. I know that the Prophet prays for us, but to hear him say it himself was so special.
But he also prayed for all of you...for the youth of the church, for the families of the world who are striving to raise the standard of truth in their homes and communities. And that is you. I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing family.
Story number 2 is about a devotional that we went to on Tuesday with Elder and Sister Johnson from the 70. It was amazing and just so full of life. He said that he leaps out of bed every morning because of the knowledge of the gospel, and that when someone knows that they are a child of God, their lives will change. Teach that to your friends and all you meet. I invite each of you to invite at least one friend to General Conference and tell them that they will learn a truth that they have been trying to find. Pray for them to feel the spirit, and their answer will be there. He also said that "you can't get burned out in the work and service of God, only fired up!" and it is so true. THis work is amazing, and the greatest joy is in it. You don't have to be where I am to be involved. Just live so that the Spirit is with you always and you can have these experiences at any time because you are worthy and the Lord will shape you into His servant that He needs to help His children. It's so neat. I love seeing the Lord's hand in everything in my life. And it was there all along, I just didn't look for it all the time like I am now. Don't miss the opportunity to see how He blesses your life.
Ok now funny story that my teacher Fratele Sperry told us from when he was on his mission in Romania. He was tracting with his companion, and they weren't having any success until one really fat mat opened the door and let them in right away. It soon became aparent that he was drunk, and they wanted to leave, so they left a short message with him and were about to go when the man stopped them and asked if anyone ever kissed their name tags like people do with the Priest's rings in the Catholic church. Obviously not, but this man wanted to and Fratele Sperry is stuck on the couch when this man starts to fall on top of him to kiss his name tag and the first thing he could think of was to take his bible and thrust it into this mans throat and throw him down on the ground (so he totally cholked a man with his bible) and he and his companion booked it out of there, and on the landing of the appartment his companion completely flipped backwards on black ice where they then noticed a large mass from the opposite direction charging them (it was not human) and it turned out to be an unsheared sheep that they had to run away from! Crazy stuff...we were laughing soooo hard!
But I love you all so very much, and I am excited to talk to you on Monday...I would like to call Cherisse too if I can if she doesn't have classes during my connection, so figure that out with her, and you can just tell me on the phone k? Oh, and I'll be sending a package home of stuff that I don't need and pictures (promis the pics are coming).
I love you! Have an amazing day! ps. Shaley, you look amazing without braces!!! And I loved all the pictures you put on my camera! Thank you so much you are all beautiful in them! I love you!!!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Travel Plans
So I can't believe that I'm leaving on Monday!!! (March 30th) 1st my travel plans just to get those out of the way...We report to the travel office at 5am sharp for our shuttle to SLC. Our plane leaves at 8:30am and we go to JFK airport in NY at 3:09 pm NY time. Then we have a flight leaving at 5:50pm to go to Vienna Austria which arrives 8:35 am Austria time, and our last connection leaves at 10:45 am and arrives in Bucurest Romania at 1:25 pm on March 31 2009 Romanian time. (ps, Romania is 8 hours ahead of us) so that will be about 21 hours of travel which is a lot, but I am so excited.
AH! the excitement is building up way too much, but I'm still working hard and trying to get as much done as I possibly can so that it won't be the hardest transition of my life. But thank you so so so much for the packages...I got both of them and I LOVE my hat and gloves! The gloves are just a tad tight, but so warm, and it looks so cute! I got to test them out today because it was snowing when we walked to the temple and I stayed all nice and toasty the whole way there and back :}
And Cherisse, thank you so much for the pictures and the cute card! When I got it, I was wondering who I knew from Pocatello cuz that's where the mail stamp came from, and when I opened it and saw a picture of you I screamed and my companions were like, "what?" and I was soooooo excited that you wrote to me and that I had pictures! SO thank you lots for that. And yes, you can email me when I'm in Romania, cuz I won't have a 30 min countdown before it kicks me off the computer and I can actually read and enjoy what you write to me. SO that would be great. Love you!
I will send this now because I need to leave and I will continue in a separate email named email 2. Love you!
AH! the excitement is building up way too much, but I'm still working hard and trying to get as much done as I possibly can so that it won't be the hardest transition of my life. But thank you so so so much for the packages...I got both of them and I LOVE my hat and gloves! The gloves are just a tad tight, but so warm, and it looks so cute! I got to test them out today because it was snowing when we walked to the temple and I stayed all nice and toasty the whole way there and back :}
And Cherisse, thank you so much for the pictures and the cute card! When I got it, I was wondering who I knew from Pocatello cuz that's where the mail stamp came from, and when I opened it and saw a picture of you I screamed and my companions were like, "what?" and I was soooooo excited that you wrote to me and that I had pictures! SO thank you lots for that. And yes, you can email me when I'm in Romania, cuz I won't have a 30 min countdown before it kicks me off the computer and I can actually read and enjoy what you write to me. SO that would be great. Love you!
I will send this now because I need to leave and I will continue in a separate email named email 2. Love you!
Friday, March 20, 2009
One week to go at MTC!
Hi everyone!
So the craziest thing to think about, is that I only have one more preparation day left here at the MTC before I leave, and we should be getting our travel plans any day now. AHHHH!!! I can't wait! I'm so excited!
I got a package from Don, Penny, Rachell and Nicole...thank you so much! I loved the cards and the pictures of the 1st pres. it came in handy for a progressing investigator lesson where we were telling her about the prophet, so it was perfect!
Oh, and i found out that usually in Romania we watch re-runs of previous conferences if they can't get the current one, and the liahona comes only 4 times a year. So if you could plan on sending me the Conference issue ensign, that would be amazing.
Shaley, I'm so excited that you finally got your braces off!!! I'll appologize now for your late b-day present...I'm getting to Romania on April 1st, and it will take a while for me to be able to send anything. But I will be thinking of you, and if I email, I'll say happy birthday.
There is a new elder in our Branch, one of the 3 going to Romania, and he hasn't gotten a letter since he's been here! I asked if he would like a letter from anyone and he said yes, so anyone can write to him. He just wants encouragement and something to think about. His name is Elder Sanchez and he is amazing. his mailbox is MTC 149 and it's ROM-BUC 0511. Everything else is the same as mine. It can be sent on dearelder.com. He is leaving the MTC the same day as me, March 30th.
Sunday we get to be a part of the broadcast for the Draper Temple Dedication! That will be super nice.
This past Tuesday Devotional Elder Perry was here and talked to us about our companions. I loved it. One thing in particular that stuck with me is that he said to look for the eternal experiences. What we are doing in life is not just about the here and now, but about the eternities and everything that will come in the life to come. As we look ahead and keep in perspective what really matters, we will be able to find joy in our trials, joy in our suffering, and we will be able to work to become what our full potential defines: we are sons and daughters of God. So look for the eternal opportunities and experience what is eternal.
Margaret Liffereth from the primary gen. pres. spoke to the Relief Society on Sunday, and she talked about how as we grow spiritually, we come to find the power that we have in the spirit. If we have the Spirit, that doesn't mean that we know everything that that means. It is a life-long process to learn how to communicate with and through the Spirit, and it is a relationship of feeling and growing and learning. It is so cool to learn how you individually feel that Spirit and how to tap into the power that we each personally have with that.
Ok, funny...Every night when i write in my journal I sign my name at the end of the entry, and a couple nights ago I signed it without thinking and then when I looked at it, I realized I signed my entry in my journal as my companion's nam, Sora kiriyama! It was so funny...that is companion unity right there! We joked that we are as the Romanian's say: friends of the belt buckle (prieteni de la catarama) which basically means "tight" (lol).
And on Sunday, we all put on purple face masks, which looked hilarious, so we took pictures.
And teaching to the volunteers in the TRC this week was hilarious, (This is all role playing, as you know, with people who are really members of our church, who speak Romanian so we can practice teaching in our new language) because we were teaching about the Word of Wisdom, and when we aksed what they knew about it they said 'oh that weird thing where you can't drink or smoke or have any fun, because that's how you have fun" (mind this is all in Romanian) and so we explained that it was a revelation from God through the Prophet, and that you can actually have more fun dancing with out alcohol...I don't think they believed that part, but they did say that they would try to live it. Then it turned into a conversation in Romanian about how it was too much money wasted and we could just all drink it together right then (us included) I tried not to die laughing, and so i ended it by saying that we would call them to morrow and check up on them to see how they were doing. "ok, fine, we'll do it" and it was a riot. So much fun to be able to express what you want to say, and then so amazingly frustrating when you know what you want to say, and what they need to hear, but you don't know how to say it. But the spirit helps you where you lack.
Today in the temple, which was amazing, I was thinking a lot about diligence. The Spirit taught me some neat things between what the English scriptures say, and what the literal translation of the Romanian scriptures say, that add new light to things. For instance, instead of "laboring with all diligence" the Romanian scriptures translate to "desire to do all they are commanded from the very bottom of their souls" and they mean the same thing -diligence- but one describes HOW we should be diligent. We should be diligent from the very bottom of our souls, because that is what we desire to do. We desire to give our all in everything that we have - school, sports, relationships, callings, service, and anything else that is here in life for us to experience. It is through diligently giving our all that we are able to find the fulness of joy that is there to find in any work. It was awesome.
I can't really remember much else from this week to talk about, but I love you all so very much...don't forget to send anything else priority so that I can get it and i'll probably send a small package home sometime with things that are just cluttering up my suitcases.
But I love you all so so so much, and I'll write again next week!
Love always, --Sora Karina
So the craziest thing to think about, is that I only have one more preparation day left here at the MTC before I leave, and we should be getting our travel plans any day now. AHHHH!!! I can't wait! I'm so excited!
I got a package from Don, Penny, Rachell and Nicole...thank you so much! I loved the cards and the pictures of the 1st pres. it came in handy for a progressing investigator lesson where we were telling her about the prophet, so it was perfect!
Oh, and i found out that usually in Romania we watch re-runs of previous conferences if they can't get the current one, and the liahona comes only 4 times a year. So if you could plan on sending me the Conference issue ensign, that would be amazing.
Shaley, I'm so excited that you finally got your braces off!!! I'll appologize now for your late b-day present...I'm getting to Romania on April 1st, and it will take a while for me to be able to send anything. But I will be thinking of you, and if I email, I'll say happy birthday.
There is a new elder in our Branch, one of the 3 going to Romania, and he hasn't gotten a letter since he's been here! I asked if he would like a letter from anyone and he said yes, so anyone can write to him. He just wants encouragement and something to think about. His name is Elder Sanchez and he is amazing. his mailbox is MTC 149 and it's ROM-BUC 0511. Everything else is the same as mine. It can be sent on dearelder.com. He is leaving the MTC the same day as me, March 30th.
Sunday we get to be a part of the broadcast for the Draper Temple Dedication! That will be super nice.
This past Tuesday Devotional Elder Perry was here and talked to us about our companions. I loved it. One thing in particular that stuck with me is that he said to look for the eternal experiences. What we are doing in life is not just about the here and now, but about the eternities and everything that will come in the life to come. As we look ahead and keep in perspective what really matters, we will be able to find joy in our trials, joy in our suffering, and we will be able to work to become what our full potential defines: we are sons and daughters of God. So look for the eternal opportunities and experience what is eternal.
Margaret Liffereth from the primary gen. pres. spoke to the Relief Society on Sunday, and she talked about how as we grow spiritually, we come to find the power that we have in the spirit. If we have the Spirit, that doesn't mean that we know everything that that means. It is a life-long process to learn how to communicate with and through the Spirit, and it is a relationship of feeling and growing and learning. It is so cool to learn how you individually feel that Spirit and how to tap into the power that we each personally have with that.
Ok, funny...Every night when i write in my journal I sign my name at the end of the entry, and a couple nights ago I signed it without thinking and then when I looked at it, I realized I signed my entry in my journal as my companion's nam, Sora kiriyama! It was so funny...that is companion unity right there! We joked that we are as the Romanian's say: friends of the belt buckle (prieteni de la catarama) which basically means "tight" (lol).
And on Sunday, we all put on purple face masks, which looked hilarious, so we took pictures.
And teaching to the volunteers in the TRC this week was hilarious, (This is all role playing, as you know, with people who are really members of our church, who speak Romanian so we can practice teaching in our new language) because we were teaching about the Word of Wisdom, and when we aksed what they knew about it they said 'oh that weird thing where you can't drink or smoke or have any fun, because that's how you have fun" (mind this is all in Romanian) and so we explained that it was a revelation from God through the Prophet, and that you can actually have more fun dancing with out alcohol...I don't think they believed that part, but they did say that they would try to live it. Then it turned into a conversation in Romanian about how it was too much money wasted and we could just all drink it together right then (us included) I tried not to die laughing, and so i ended it by saying that we would call them to morrow and check up on them to see how they were doing. "ok, fine, we'll do it" and it was a riot. So much fun to be able to express what you want to say, and then so amazingly frustrating when you know what you want to say, and what they need to hear, but you don't know how to say it. But the spirit helps you where you lack.
Today in the temple, which was amazing, I was thinking a lot about diligence. The Spirit taught me some neat things between what the English scriptures say, and what the literal translation of the Romanian scriptures say, that add new light to things. For instance, instead of "laboring with all diligence" the Romanian scriptures translate to "desire to do all they are commanded from the very bottom of their souls" and they mean the same thing -diligence- but one describes HOW we should be diligent. We should be diligent from the very bottom of our souls, because that is what we desire to do. We desire to give our all in everything that we have - school, sports, relationships, callings, service, and anything else that is here in life for us to experience. It is through diligently giving our all that we are able to find the fulness of joy that is there to find in any work. It was awesome.
I can't really remember much else from this week to talk about, but I love you all so very much...don't forget to send anything else priority so that I can get it and i'll probably send a small package home sometime with things that are just cluttering up my suitcases.
But I love you all so so so much, and I'll write again next week!
Love always, --Sora Karina
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Two weeks to go!
Ok, so first things first in my letter this week....HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA!!!!!!! I hope that you have an amazing day on sunday, I'll be thinking of you!
Mom asked if I'm nervous to be leaving soon. I'm not nervous to go, just super excited to think about where I'll be, who my trainer is, and what I'm going to do. I don't really know what to expect, and so I'm just trying to do things as best I can now in the hopes and trusting that the Lord will help me when I get there. And I only have 2 more p-day's after this one (CRAZY!)
Ok, now the real letter part. This sunday, Sister Elaine S. Dalton was the speaker for Relief Society, and talked about the blessings of being a virtuous woman. It was amazing to be able to see the effects of it in front of us as she spoke to us, and to be able to feel God's love for us through her words. I know that being virtuous is so important and that as we strive to be clean and follow and keep God's commandments, we can have His Spirit with us at all times which is such an amazing promise.
I taught the lesson in District meeting about Jesus Christ, and how we can be teachers after His example. (Look up the talk "Leading as the Savior Led" it's awesome!) I know that if we don't know Christ in our lives, we can't lead others to Him, so it is so important for our testimonies to always be growing each day as we strive to come closer to Him.
At our tuesday devotional (i sing in all the missionary choir days) we sang in the choir "Consider the Lilies" and I thought of you mom. It was a beautiful arrangement, and it was so neat to think how that song isn't singing about lilies, but about how aware Heavenly Father is of each of us because he knows us and Loves us so much. We each have seeds of divinity in us and through that statement we catch a glimps of our potential. It's amazing.
Ok, you wanted story time, so here are some stories from the past couple of weeks. The other day, my companion Sora Kiriyama accidently wore 2 different shoes for the majority of the day! It was funny because they were both black, but very different styles, and she didn't realize it until about 2 hours after the fact, and we laughed all day long about that one. Yesterday we were practicing one of our lessons and instead of saying "Duhul Sfant" which means the Holy Ghost, I said "Darul Sfant" Which means the Holy Gift. We've been giving "Holy Gifts" to each other since then ;}
Oh, and we've now had about 4 or 5 birds fly into our window of our classroom at very high speeds...3 of them have died, which is sad but it is so funny to look at the window and see tufts of feathers stuck to it.
My 2 companions and I have a random dance party at least 3 times a day...one of them with actual music. It usually ends up being "In the Hall of the Mountain King" just because it's so fun!
My teacher Fratele Sperry is having a baby, and he just found out 2 days ago that it's going to be a boy! We were super excited for him. We got a new romanian district yesterday of 3 elders. They are awesome, and we are having so much fun with them...especially since Sora Kiriyama is pretending to be Japanese (which she is, though she can't speak it) and so they all think that she can't speak English and it is so super funny to translate for her into Romanian and to watch them try to talk to her, and her blank-faced smile back. I love it. It will probably only last 1-2 more days, but it's fun anyways.
This morning I went to the temple. After which we had breakfast in the Temple which is the most amazing food ever (as much as I love MTC food) and there was a man with his wife who paid for all of us...so nice! and after we ate we went to thank him, and his wife turns to him"what did you do?" "I paid for their breakfast "and she turned around and goes "Oh, I'm so glad he did that for you!" And we talked with them and it was so nice. Then on our way out, there was a brother coming in and saw our tags and stopped us...he served in Romania too about 5 years ago and just told us how amazing it is. I am so excited to be going there soon! Crazy stuff!
So there are some stories that I hope give you more flavor. I'll try to do better with that ;} but I love you all so very much, and I know that this is the work of God and that it is a blessing for all of us to go forth in it.
I love you all! Have an amazing week!--Sora Karina
Mom asked if I'm nervous to be leaving soon. I'm not nervous to go, just super excited to think about where I'll be, who my trainer is, and what I'm going to do. I don't really know what to expect, and so I'm just trying to do things as best I can now in the hopes and trusting that the Lord will help me when I get there. And I only have 2 more p-day's after this one (CRAZY!)
Ok, now the real letter part. This sunday, Sister Elaine S. Dalton was the speaker for Relief Society, and talked about the blessings of being a virtuous woman. It was amazing to be able to see the effects of it in front of us as she spoke to us, and to be able to feel God's love for us through her words. I know that being virtuous is so important and that as we strive to be clean and follow and keep God's commandments, we can have His Spirit with us at all times which is such an amazing promise.
I taught the lesson in District meeting about Jesus Christ, and how we can be teachers after His example. (Look up the talk "Leading as the Savior Led" it's awesome!) I know that if we don't know Christ in our lives, we can't lead others to Him, so it is so important for our testimonies to always be growing each day as we strive to come closer to Him.
At our tuesday devotional (i sing in all the missionary choir days) we sang in the choir "Consider the Lilies" and I thought of you mom. It was a beautiful arrangement, and it was so neat to think how that song isn't singing about lilies, but about how aware Heavenly Father is of each of us because he knows us and Loves us so much. We each have seeds of divinity in us and through that statement we catch a glimps of our potential. It's amazing.
Ok, you wanted story time, so here are some stories from the past couple of weeks. The other day, my companion Sora Kiriyama accidently wore 2 different shoes for the majority of the day! It was funny because they were both black, but very different styles, and she didn't realize it until about 2 hours after the fact, and we laughed all day long about that one. Yesterday we were practicing one of our lessons and instead of saying "Duhul Sfant" which means the Holy Ghost, I said "Darul Sfant" Which means the Holy Gift. We've been giving "Holy Gifts" to each other since then ;}
Oh, and we've now had about 4 or 5 birds fly into our window of our classroom at very high speeds...3 of them have died, which is sad but it is so funny to look at the window and see tufts of feathers stuck to it.
My 2 companions and I have a random dance party at least 3 times a day...one of them with actual music. It usually ends up being "In the Hall of the Mountain King" just because it's so fun!
My teacher Fratele Sperry is having a baby, and he just found out 2 days ago that it's going to be a boy! We were super excited for him. We got a new romanian district yesterday of 3 elders. They are awesome, and we are having so much fun with them...especially since Sora Kiriyama is pretending to be Japanese (which she is, though she can't speak it) and so they all think that she can't speak English and it is so super funny to translate for her into Romanian and to watch them try to talk to her, and her blank-faced smile back. I love it. It will probably only last 1-2 more days, but it's fun anyways.
This morning I went to the temple. After which we had breakfast in the Temple which is the most amazing food ever (as much as I love MTC food) and there was a man with his wife who paid for all of us...so nice! and after we ate we went to thank him, and his wife turns to him"what did you do?" "I paid for their breakfast "and she turned around and goes "Oh, I'm so glad he did that for you!" And we talked with them and it was so nice. Then on our way out, there was a brother coming in and saw our tags and stopped us...he served in Romania too about 5 years ago and just told us how amazing it is. I am so excited to be going there soon! Crazy stuff!
So there are some stories that I hope give you more flavor. I'll try to do better with that ;} but I love you all so very much, and I know that this is the work of God and that it is a blessing for all of us to go forth in it.
I love you all! Have an amazing week!--Sora Karina
Thursday, March 5, 2009
week #5 at MTC
Buna diminiatsa everyone! I hope that all is well and that all is happy. I'm doing great. It's so crazy...a sister in my district, her dad works for the church, namely with departure and travel stuff with missionaries, and so even though we're not getting our official travel plans for one-2 weeks, I know that we are leaving on March 30, our flight leaves at 8:20am and that we are going from Salt Lake to JFK to Vienna to Romania! I don't know the times cuz they didn't tell her that, but I'll know when we are supposed to get our travel plans. Vaca sfanta (holy cow lol)
This week was amazing. With this past Sunday being fast sunday, we had our MTC mission conference. Some things of note from that meeting that I really enjoyed: As we work, we will have the Spirit, and that is how we will find happiness. A testimony is precious to the souls of men. Learn how to feel what you already know. A testimony is so crucial to the way that we live. When we are able to have that foundation of "I know that God lives. I know that He loves me personally, and I know that this is what God wants me to do" no matter where we are in life, we will feel that love of God even more and be able to go forward in confidence, receiving blessings, and finding great joy each day.
Marraige and family are hope for eternity. "There may be misunderstanding in the words you try to give, but there is no misunderstanding in how you act and how you live."
The Sunday night fireside was presented by MTC Area Pres. Gary Heaton and his wife. They spoke on how the Holy Ghost can lift us up in times of discouragement. It is the Comforter, the Testifyier, and one of the most amazing gifts we can ever receive. As we learn of Christ and learn to listen to the Spirit, then we will be able to better understand our Savior, and we can become more like Him. (Ether 3:1-6 "prepare your souls").
Also with Sunday, we had some of the American Sign Language (ASL) Elders in our branch leave to go to Rochester New York. They are amazing and were super fun to get to know. They signed "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" as a musical number in Sacrament meeting as I played the piano. It was gorgeous, and the Spirit was so strong.
There were some really neat things that I learned this week about Personal Study and our call as children of God to do all we can in this life to come closer to Him. I'll only name a few. The best way to be able to progress is to make goals for yourself. If you don't have a question in mind, you're not going to get any answers. So as you make goals, be specific. Don't just say "I want to do better" because you probably won't. As you're specific, you will be able to see specific progress. After you make a goal, then you take it to the Lord in prayer. Let Him know what you're trying to do and how you're going to achieve it. The Lord responds to specific things, and as we go to Him with the specifics in our lives, He will help us with those specific things. I've already seen some neat miracles in my life as I have started to focus on this, this past week, and it's amazing. I know that God hears and answers our prayers and will help us to accomplish the righteous desires of our hearts. He loves us each so much!
On Tuesday night, Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the 70 was our devotional speaker. He's so amazing. The first half of his talk was focused on how our bodies are the temples of the Lord where the Spirit can dwell. But the Spirit can only dwell in us if we are clean and striving to live as God would have us. The Atonement is such an amazing gift, and as you study and come to better understand exactly what God and Jesus Christ did for us through that event, and how it relates to you personally, the love in your life and your desire to do all you can to show your love back will increase. Repentance, though it sounds scary, is sometimes the best way that we can show our love to God, and helps us so much in our lives to be in alignment with God and His will for us. This doesn't take away any of our freedoms or choices, but instead gives us better freedom and so much more happiness. We can become clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Anyone can. Everyone can if they would turn to Him and do what He asks. "Come unto me all ye that are burdened or heavy laden." "Whosoever has a boken heart and contrite spirit, come unto me." He wants us to. The Atonement is applicable every day, 24/7, and we can have the sanctifying love of Jesus Christ with us in our lives. The more you serve and work, the more you will feel this. I know that that is true, and I can't stop smiling as I testify of that.
Mom asked me some questions, and here are the answers: My companions don't get letters every day, at least every week, but sometimes that's not always enough, but it goes ok I guess. (If your wondering, it's Kristen Kiriyama and Charisse Larsen - said just like Cherisse's name :} ) But we sometimes share letters, usually just what makes us smile.
My back is doing pretty good. It's not the exercising that hurts it. It's the fact that I sit down pretty much all day every day and I don't get to move around as much, but it isn't bugging me too bad, and when it does, I just stretch and deal with it and it will be better.
I don't get to practice piano too much...there is just so much to do, and piano is not the most important. I play piano on Sundays for Sacrament meeting, so I allow the 1/2 hr of prelude to fulfill my piano needs ;}
On p-days we go to the Temple at 7:40, and then do service in the temple for as long as we want. We do an hour of personal and comp study, and then do whatever we want in our extra time. Laundry, letters, journal review, organizing my study journal is most of it. Then we have 3 hours of class after dinner, we plan and then go to bed. Normal days vary depending on the day. Usually we have about 2-3 hours of class in the morning with one teacher, and then 2-3 hours of class with the other. One hour of personal study and one hour of companion study is always present, 45 min of gym on 5 days of the week.
Devotional on Tuesdays, Preparation day on Thursdays. And then we have 45 min for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every time in between is call MDT (missionary directive time) where we can do what we feel needs to get done. That is the hardest time to be productive, but that's what effective planning is for each night for 1/2hr. Also depending on the day we have designated language study time for 45min to 1 1/2 hrs. Sometimes we go to workshops if we sign up, and then Fridays we go to the RC (referral center) and call people to talk about the church, and Mondays we go to the TRC where we practice teaching to member volunteers who pretend to be investigators. We're doing it with them in Romanian now, so it's crazy. Our first Romanian lesson went pretty good though, I'll write more about that later. But I love you all so very much!
Mom, thanks for your letter and talk...I'm studying it piece by piece, and it's really fun. I'll write you what I think when I have time.
Dad, that is so cool that you got to tour the astronaut place!(The Kennedy Space Center) I'm glad that you're doing good and not getting sick.
Cherisse, I hope that school is doing good and that your smiling lots and lots. Tell Ally and Jason I say HI!
Shaley, congrats on making Varsity, and tell Josh thanks for his letter. I'll try to write back next week. It was so fun to read
Jenna, super congrats on JV! That is so awesome, and I hope you have so much fun with that
Tam, I love you so much, and I’ll try to send you another verse of a Romanian song sometime.
But I miss you all when I think about it, which isn't a lot, but I always think of how much I love you. Have an awesome amazing week, and I'll write next Thursday. Lots of kisses, and
zambat (smile!)
Love always, --Sora Karina
This week was amazing. With this past Sunday being fast sunday, we had our MTC mission conference. Some things of note from that meeting that I really enjoyed: As we work, we will have the Spirit, and that is how we will find happiness. A testimony is precious to the souls of men. Learn how to feel what you already know. A testimony is so crucial to the way that we live. When we are able to have that foundation of "I know that God lives. I know that He loves me personally, and I know that this is what God wants me to do" no matter where we are in life, we will feel that love of God even more and be able to go forward in confidence, receiving blessings, and finding great joy each day.
Marraige and family are hope for eternity. "There may be misunderstanding in the words you try to give, but there is no misunderstanding in how you act and how you live."
The Sunday night fireside was presented by MTC Area Pres. Gary Heaton and his wife. They spoke on how the Holy Ghost can lift us up in times of discouragement. It is the Comforter, the Testifyier, and one of the most amazing gifts we can ever receive. As we learn of Christ and learn to listen to the Spirit, then we will be able to better understand our Savior, and we can become more like Him. (Ether 3:1-6 "prepare your souls").
Also with Sunday, we had some of the American Sign Language (ASL) Elders in our branch leave to go to Rochester New York. They are amazing and were super fun to get to know. They signed "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" as a musical number in Sacrament meeting as I played the piano. It was gorgeous, and the Spirit was so strong.
There were some really neat things that I learned this week about Personal Study and our call as children of God to do all we can in this life to come closer to Him. I'll only name a few. The best way to be able to progress is to make goals for yourself. If you don't have a question in mind, you're not going to get any answers. So as you make goals, be specific. Don't just say "I want to do better" because you probably won't. As you're specific, you will be able to see specific progress. After you make a goal, then you take it to the Lord in prayer. Let Him know what you're trying to do and how you're going to achieve it. The Lord responds to specific things, and as we go to Him with the specifics in our lives, He will help us with those specific things. I've already seen some neat miracles in my life as I have started to focus on this, this past week, and it's amazing. I know that God hears and answers our prayers and will help us to accomplish the righteous desires of our hearts. He loves us each so much!
On Tuesday night, Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the 70 was our devotional speaker. He's so amazing. The first half of his talk was focused on how our bodies are the temples of the Lord where the Spirit can dwell. But the Spirit can only dwell in us if we are clean and striving to live as God would have us. The Atonement is such an amazing gift, and as you study and come to better understand exactly what God and Jesus Christ did for us through that event, and how it relates to you personally, the love in your life and your desire to do all you can to show your love back will increase. Repentance, though it sounds scary, is sometimes the best way that we can show our love to God, and helps us so much in our lives to be in alignment with God and His will for us. This doesn't take away any of our freedoms or choices, but instead gives us better freedom and so much more happiness. We can become clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Anyone can. Everyone can if they would turn to Him and do what He asks. "Come unto me all ye that are burdened or heavy laden." "Whosoever has a boken heart and contrite spirit, come unto me." He wants us to. The Atonement is applicable every day, 24/7, and we can have the sanctifying love of Jesus Christ with us in our lives. The more you serve and work, the more you will feel this. I know that that is true, and I can't stop smiling as I testify of that.
Mom asked me some questions, and here are the answers: My companions don't get letters every day, at least every week, but sometimes that's not always enough, but it goes ok I guess. (If your wondering, it's Kristen Kiriyama and Charisse Larsen - said just like Cherisse's name :} ) But we sometimes share letters, usually just what makes us smile.
My back is doing pretty good. It's not the exercising that hurts it. It's the fact that I sit down pretty much all day every day and I don't get to move around as much, but it isn't bugging me too bad, and when it does, I just stretch and deal with it and it will be better.
I don't get to practice piano too much...there is just so much to do, and piano is not the most important. I play piano on Sundays for Sacrament meeting, so I allow the 1/2 hr of prelude to fulfill my piano needs ;}
On p-days we go to the Temple at 7:40, and then do service in the temple for as long as we want. We do an hour of personal and comp study, and then do whatever we want in our extra time. Laundry, letters, journal review, organizing my study journal is most of it. Then we have 3 hours of class after dinner, we plan and then go to bed. Normal days vary depending on the day. Usually we have about 2-3 hours of class in the morning with one teacher, and then 2-3 hours of class with the other. One hour of personal study and one hour of companion study is always present, 45 min of gym on 5 days of the week.
Devotional on Tuesdays, Preparation day on Thursdays. And then we have 45 min for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every time in between is call MDT (missionary directive time) where we can do what we feel needs to get done. That is the hardest time to be productive, but that's what effective planning is for each night for 1/2hr. Also depending on the day we have designated language study time for 45min to 1 1/2 hrs. Sometimes we go to workshops if we sign up, and then Fridays we go to the RC (referral center) and call people to talk about the church, and Mondays we go to the TRC where we practice teaching to member volunteers who pretend to be investigators. We're doing it with them in Romanian now, so it's crazy. Our first Romanian lesson went pretty good though, I'll write more about that later. But I love you all so very much!
Mom, thanks for your letter and talk...I'm studying it piece by piece, and it's really fun. I'll write you what I think when I have time.
Dad, that is so cool that you got to tour the astronaut place!(The Kennedy Space Center) I'm glad that you're doing good and not getting sick.
Cherisse, I hope that school is doing good and that your smiling lots and lots. Tell Ally and Jason I say HI!
Shaley, congrats on making Varsity, and tell Josh thanks for his letter. I'll try to write back next week. It was so fun to read
Jenna, super congrats on JV! That is so awesome, and I hope you have so much fun with that
Tam, I love you so much, and I’ll try to send you another verse of a Romanian song sometime.
But I miss you all when I think about it, which isn't a lot, but I always think of how much I love you. Have an awesome amazing week, and I'll write next Thursday. Lots of kisses, and
zambat (smile!)
Love always, --Sora Karina
Sunday, March 1, 2009
week #4
Buna! How is everyone? I hope that all is well and happy and great. I am doing pretty good = wonderful. Just a quick note on time and how weirdly it passes here in the MTC. Today is my half-way day in the MTC which means I only have 4 1/2 weeks left untill I will be leaving to go to Romania. That is quite a crazy/scary/exciting thought. I'm excited to go, but scared cuz I feel like I don't know anything and I can't speak Romanian, and it's crazy cuz it feels somewhat surreal. One week here feels like a year or two, and then when it's over you think, "I arrived here just yesterday." It's hard to explain, but that's ok. I'm loving it here and am enjoying all of my classes.
Last night my companions and I taught half of a lesson in Romanian and it was super hard. This Monday is our first time to teach the entire first lesson in Romanian and it will be a funny experience to see how it plays out. But I'm excited to see how the progression goes. I enjoy going to the RC each week, which is where we call people and talk to them about the Church and make sure whatever they ordered (A Bible, Book of Mormon or a DVD) got to them ok. It's really fun to be able to talk to people on the phone, through online chats, and answer their questions and to bear my testimony to them about Jesus Christ and how if we turn to Him, we can find joy. For Sunday, Relief Society was taught by Sister Carol Stephens of the Relief Society Gen. Board. She talked about how if we don't understand that the commandments are given to us from God out of love, then we will be unwilling to keep them. "...we must be engaged in the work of the Lord, for the Lord must have instruments in fulfilling His purposes." --Elder Legrand Richards.
We also talked a lot about knowledge. Knowledge requires humility, to ask is to pray, to knock is to be spiritually prepared and to get to work, and you have to go, do, and you have to know it before you can go and do it. It is so important to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. It is so crucial to add to that every day through obedience, and having faith that through God everything will work out as we strive to follow Him and learn more about Him.
The firseide that night was with Stephen B. Allen, the managing director of the Church Missionary Dept. He said that "If you go through a day and you leave Christ out of it, it has been a day wasted." We need to remember Jesus Christ, because it is through Him that we are able to come closer to God and that we can repent, be forgiven, and feel the love of our Heavenly Father. "When everything says you can't, believe in the part of you that says you can." :D But also know that as soon as you start thinking you can do it yourself, the Lord will let you.
Tuesday's devotional was given by Elder Daryl H. Garn and his Wife Irene from the quorum of the 70. She talked about how our message is one of Hope about Jesus Christ, and that the greatest cause we've ever known is that of serving the Lord. I have to agree. I know that being in the service of God is such a blessing, and that we are all a part of it, even if we realize that we have taken His name upon us, and that we believe in Him. The worth of every soul is great in the sight of God, and we are all called to His work if we desire to follow Him. Elder Garn spoke of Agency, and how big a part it plays in who we are, and who we become as we live our lives. Agency lays the foundation as we know who we are as sons and daughters of God and as we use it wisely to follow and act on His will.
This week has been very fruitful in my learning. The Temple was so nice to go to. It never ceases to amaze me how God wants us to be happy. That is His desire. He has given us everything so that we can be happy if we obey His commandments and follow His will. He has given us families, prophets who lead and guide us in times of darkness, the Holy Ghost to testify of Him, to teach us and comfort us, and He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ so that we can repent and return to Him when our time comes. I know that this is true, and that as we do His will, we will feel His love, and that we will be happy.
The other day at dinner, I met a Senior couple going to Hungary, Brother and Sister Allen, who's daughter is married to one of the Wooley's son's in Castle Rock. They say hello. It was fun talking to them. At the end of our conversation, Brother Allen said "Give them heaven, because it's so much better than the alternative." Funny!
Oh, and you will laugh at this...they have an enhancement class here that you can choose to take or not to take, but it is offered at the request of the 1st Pres. and quorum of the 12 apostles. One of my companions wanted to go, so we went. They tell you the importance of always looking nice, and putting make-up on you and give you about $200 worth of make-up to have. Nu Skin is the company, and they donate about $10,000 of product per month to the MTC...crazy! But I decided that if the 1st Pres. cared enough about make-up to offer that course, I'm going to try to wear at least a little make-up each day. It's weird, but oh, well. I was laughing about it.
At the end of them putting make-up on you, they have those mirrors I think I had when I was 3yrs old that talks when you bump it. They tell you that you have to agree with it or it won't stop. It says "You're so beautiful!!" and you have to say "Yes I am!" or they keep making it talk to you as you look at your reflection. That was really weird, so I just got it over with quickly, and laughed with my companions about it later.
Oh, and in gym this week, I successfully, several times in a row and in a couple of days now, served overhand in volley ball from behind the back line. Exciting! It was fun. And I am enjoying my study time as I run. It's a good time to think, though it gets way hot on the 3rd floor where they have the track.
And you said that you wanted to know more about how the language is coming. Well, I can form any kind of sentence, past/present/future, I can explain relationships of actions between people, and I can testify of the gospel and pray. It really is my vocabulary that will just have to come with time. It's interesting to try and speak and then think "I don't know how to say that" and then try and rephrase it to it's simplest form so I can communicate as we try to speak as often as possible. My teachers are now teaching us only in Romanian unless we really need English, and then it's just a couple words so we can figure things out by context and what we know. I'm teaching in Romanian next week, and this week in class is just review which is nice. I'm hoping that the review will stabilize my foundation I have on the language, and give me better confidence to speak it more. But I am loving it so much. It is a beautiful language, and I'm excited to be over there in a little more than a month and start getting lost in what they say so I can really learn how to communicate with them.
I know that I am here because God called me, and I love you all so very much. Keep smiling, and I'll write again next week! Sora Karina-
Last night my companions and I taught half of a lesson in Romanian and it was super hard. This Monday is our first time to teach the entire first lesson in Romanian and it will be a funny experience to see how it plays out. But I'm excited to see how the progression goes. I enjoy going to the RC each week, which is where we call people and talk to them about the Church and make sure whatever they ordered (A Bible, Book of Mormon or a DVD) got to them ok. It's really fun to be able to talk to people on the phone, through online chats, and answer their questions and to bear my testimony to them about Jesus Christ and how if we turn to Him, we can find joy. For Sunday, Relief Society was taught by Sister Carol Stephens of the Relief Society Gen. Board. She talked about how if we don't understand that the commandments are given to us from God out of love, then we will be unwilling to keep them. "...we must be engaged in the work of the Lord, for the Lord must have instruments in fulfilling His purposes." --Elder Legrand Richards.
We also talked a lot about knowledge. Knowledge requires humility, to ask is to pray, to knock is to be spiritually prepared and to get to work, and you have to go, do, and you have to know it before you can go and do it. It is so important to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. It is so crucial to add to that every day through obedience, and having faith that through God everything will work out as we strive to follow Him and learn more about Him.
The firseide that night was with Stephen B. Allen, the managing director of the Church Missionary Dept. He said that "If you go through a day and you leave Christ out of it, it has been a day wasted." We need to remember Jesus Christ, because it is through Him that we are able to come closer to God and that we can repent, be forgiven, and feel the love of our Heavenly Father. "When everything says you can't, believe in the part of you that says you can." :D But also know that as soon as you start thinking you can do it yourself, the Lord will let you.
Tuesday's devotional was given by Elder Daryl H. Garn and his Wife Irene from the quorum of the 70. She talked about how our message is one of Hope about Jesus Christ, and that the greatest cause we've ever known is that of serving the Lord. I have to agree. I know that being in the service of God is such a blessing, and that we are all a part of it, even if we realize that we have taken His name upon us, and that we believe in Him. The worth of every soul is great in the sight of God, and we are all called to His work if we desire to follow Him. Elder Garn spoke of Agency, and how big a part it plays in who we are, and who we become as we live our lives. Agency lays the foundation as we know who we are as sons and daughters of God and as we use it wisely to follow and act on His will.
This week has been very fruitful in my learning. The Temple was so nice to go to. It never ceases to amaze me how God wants us to be happy. That is His desire. He has given us everything so that we can be happy if we obey His commandments and follow His will. He has given us families, prophets who lead and guide us in times of darkness, the Holy Ghost to testify of Him, to teach us and comfort us, and He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ so that we can repent and return to Him when our time comes. I know that this is true, and that as we do His will, we will feel His love, and that we will be happy.
The other day at dinner, I met a Senior couple going to Hungary, Brother and Sister Allen, who's daughter is married to one of the Wooley's son's in Castle Rock. They say hello. It was fun talking to them. At the end of our conversation, Brother Allen said "Give them heaven, because it's so much better than the alternative." Funny!
Oh, and you will laugh at this...they have an enhancement class here that you can choose to take or not to take, but it is offered at the request of the 1st Pres. and quorum of the 12 apostles. One of my companions wanted to go, so we went. They tell you the importance of always looking nice, and putting make-up on you and give you about $200 worth of make-up to have. Nu Skin is the company, and they donate about $10,000 of product per month to the MTC...crazy! But I decided that if the 1st Pres. cared enough about make-up to offer that course, I'm going to try to wear at least a little make-up each day. It's weird, but oh, well. I was laughing about it.
At the end of them putting make-up on you, they have those mirrors I think I had when I was 3yrs old that talks when you bump it. They tell you that you have to agree with it or it won't stop. It says "You're so beautiful!!" and you have to say "Yes I am!" or they keep making it talk to you as you look at your reflection. That was really weird, so I just got it over with quickly, and laughed with my companions about it later.
Oh, and in gym this week, I successfully, several times in a row and in a couple of days now, served overhand in volley ball from behind the back line. Exciting! It was fun. And I am enjoying my study time as I run. It's a good time to think, though it gets way hot on the 3rd floor where they have the track.
And you said that you wanted to know more about how the language is coming. Well, I can form any kind of sentence, past/present/future, I can explain relationships of actions between people, and I can testify of the gospel and pray. It really is my vocabulary that will just have to come with time. It's interesting to try and speak and then think "I don't know how to say that" and then try and rephrase it to it's simplest form so I can communicate as we try to speak as often as possible. My teachers are now teaching us only in Romanian unless we really need English, and then it's just a couple words so we can figure things out by context and what we know. I'm teaching in Romanian next week, and this week in class is just review which is nice. I'm hoping that the review will stabilize my foundation I have on the language, and give me better confidence to speak it more. But I am loving it so much. It is a beautiful language, and I'm excited to be over there in a little more than a month and start getting lost in what they say so I can really learn how to communicate with them.
I know that I am here because God called me, and I love you all so very much. Keep smiling, and I'll write again next week! Sora Karina-
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