We are having a wedding!

Dear Family,

I'm glad to hear that you all had a good week. And that's so cool that we have fruit trees growing in our yard! Congrats to Tamara on being amazing and having so much fun in volley ball. I know that you are such a great asset to that team. How are Shaley and Jenna's lacrosse seasons going? I hope that they are having fun with that. That is so awesome about Ross and Mimi. I'm so excited for them. Tell them that I say Hi and Congrats! Also, if you see Sam, tell him that I miss him, and I hope he and his family is doing good. Yay for Cherisse being officially engaged!!! I'm so excited! She tried to send me pictures, but none of them went through. So if you could try again that would be great! And please give me news about Josh...I want to hear how he is doing. Thanks.

So this week was quite fun...I really don't have too much to tell as far as number of events, but a few really exciting things. First, last night we had our Special Night of Music fireside which was all the missionaries performing songs about the Savior. We didn't have as many people there as I would have hoped for, but the Spirit was super strong, and the members that we asked to bear their testimonies for part of the program were really good. Elder and Sister Jessee made a power point presentation of pictures of Christ that played for all to see while I played “I need Thee every Hour” on the piano (I just made up an arrangement) and then it continued into the song “I Stand All Amazed” the same arrangement that I have at home, but Sora Thompson sang it in Romanian while I played the piano. We also had a flute piece, a guitar piece, and some choral pieces. It went really good I think. The people who came loved it. And it was fun.

Even though it's hard to do everything I want to musically on the small not full-size cheap electric piano that we have, actually it's impossible to do everything that I want to on it, but the music was there, and the spirit was there, and no one really knew the difference except for me. Elder Wilde (one of our Zone Leaders) said that even though he couldn't even begin to understand my pain with that piano, he cared about my pain and frustration and realized that it was there. I told him I appreciated it :) We make do with what we have.

I'm excited for transfer meeting where they will have a real piano, and I will be able to play that in 2 weeks. 2 weeks! It's crazy that my companion is going home in 2 weeks. But we are having so much fun together working hard and learning lots. We sing practically all the time every day, and just go around smiling.

Anyways, exciting thing number 2, our choir that we work with before church did another musical number that was very successful...A Child's Prayer. I was impressed that they were able to do the round part, and they all loved it. Some of the members asked us for a copy of it because they don't ever hear those songs, and they liked it a lot. So proud.

Best news for last.........Ani and Lica are going to get married next Thursday!!!!! And then Ani will be baptized either on Friday or Saturday!!!!! We are so excited for them. Lica wants to be baptized, but he's not quite ready yet, so we'll keep working with him until he is. But it is an amazing blessing for this to happen before Sora Thompson goes home, because she has been the main source of difference in their lives, and so now she gets to see the majority of the results from it. It will be so fun. And Ani has asked us to make her wedding cake, and we're putting together a party for them for the members to come and support them and celebrate with them, and next Monday we're going dress shopping with Ani and Sora Jessee. So much fun. It won't be an extravagant wedding dress, but something pretty that she can wear for multiple occasions, cuz that's just more practical, especially since they don't have any money. But it will be fun to plan this wedding and to watch this family come even closer together as they strive to keep the commandments of God and to enter in the gate of Baptism which will bring them a fullness of joy.

I just want to close with my testimony of the joy that the Gospel brings. If you just stop and ponder a moment with how the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed your life, or how it could change your life, as you strive to live it's teachings. Faith brings a greater power and trust in your life, Repentance gives you the joy of being clean and worthy before God, Baptism has an amazing covenant and blessing where we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ – we become His – and the gift of the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest blessings ever where we can communicate with the Father and receive direction daily. Enduring to the End is what we're all doing now, where we continue to work and try to do all that we can and apply the Atonement to us and through all of it we have the assurance that God is there and that we will have joy in this life and in the life to come when we build our lives on these things. It truly is amazing the change that comes to a person's heart when they live these things. I am truly grateful for the blessing of the gospel, and that I can be here in Romania serving and loving the people.

I hope that all continues to be well and fun and grand with all of you and I'll write again next week! Love you lots and lots and lots!

--Sora Karina Hugs and Kisses all around to everyone ten times over!!!!