Romania says hi!

Hello family!

It was sooo nice to hear from you this week. I'm also happy to hear that Brother Kemp is still alive (a friend of ours from home was in a car accident) and that Brianne's wedding was fabulous. I had a pretty good week.

Right after I wrote you last week, we went and played beach volley ball. There's a sand court near the river and one of our investigators set it up and it was SO much fun. The only hard thing was that I jammed my thumb super bad - the bruise is huge and for like 1 1/2 days it was swolen like a balloon. But it's mostly back to normal now. The game was so fun, and I was excited that I can still over-hand serve! Shaley and Jenna, you would be so proud of me ;}

Anyways, nothing extremely exciting happened this week. We had 10 bungs (which is when people set up with you and don't show up so you end up wasting a lot of time which is annoying, but ok). And even with the 10 bungs this week we still had 20 lessons. (Sora Thompson, you'll know what that means.) So needless to say we are really really busy and the Lord is blessing us in our efforts. It's frustrating when you can see the potential that people have, and we pray for them so hard and we plan according to their potential and then they don't keep their commitments or they decide not to do what they know needs to be done for them to learn and progress. Like when they decide they don't "have time" to read the Book of Mormon. Or when they promise to come to church and don't. We know what these people can do and the joy they can have, if only they would choose to take the necessary course of action. When they don't, you just want to show them what they could have, but you can't. You learn to love these people so much in such a short period of time, it truly is amazing.

So we're working with a lot of people on how to receive revelation and receive answers to their prayers about the truth of the Book of Mormon, baptism, the plan of salvation, any true doctrine that we teach. I know that the Lord answers prayers - He will not withhold an answer when we ask with a prayer of faith. But we need to do our part. If we want to know something is true, we need to learn about it, read the fruits of it (aka Book of Mormon), we need to want to know, pray sincerely, and be willing to act according to the answer we receive. It changes lives for the better and it truly is amazing to see the light of the Lord shine in people when they follow this pattern.

We are currently teaching an investigator who isn't progressing, she just doesn't take action. So we decided we were going to teach her 3 boys. We have them all there for the lesson, and teach the lesson to the boys and then the boys will help to motivate her to act. I love those boys sooooo much. Ovi is 12, Vasile is 11, and Albert is 8 and turns 9 in August and all three of them have pure hearts of gold and are just so sweet and so good and they love what we're teaching them. I hope and pray that their desire to learn more will help their mom to see that what we have is good and that she will start acting on what we are teaching.

Amalia is still doing really good - she's living the law of chastity which is so exciting. I love seeing how people's desire to follow God helps give them the strength to make changes in their lives. They are super hard changes, too, but it is always for the better and it is through the Atonement that these changes are even possible.

Oh! and I learned how to make jam romanian style and it is soooo good! There is a lady who's husband is a member of the church, Fratele Moldovan, but she's not too interrested - yet. We are talking to her, and she is so sweet. She's kind of a combination of Tracy Blanch and Shanna Palmer, but Romanian. She is so crafty and sweet and fun and loves to cook. We won her heart over by making her chocolate chip cookies and she ate them all up while we were there! So funny. So mom, if you could please, send me your recipe for chocolate chip cookies that would be awesome! But she taught me how to make jam and it is so good. I'll try to send the recipe home some time if I remember to grab it.

And today we went to Lipova again as a zone, and it was super fun. There was a shepherd there at the castle with his sheep and we talked to him for a while, so cool.

But I don't think I have anything else to say this week except that I love what I am doing. I know that it is the work of the Lord, and that He is with me helping me every step of the way. I know He is with you all also, and I pray for you always. Love you all so so so so much!!!! Always, --Sora Karina

pentru Sora Thompson - mie dor de tine, si ma bucuri ca ai distrat la Alaska. sunt foarte fericita si noi continuam sa muncim din greu. Ai o zi frumoasa si mai scriem! Te iubesc, --Sora Karinas