new way to block knock

Dear family,

How are all of you? I'm doing great.

This week was an interesting one full of just funny stories. But the good one first, and then the funny stuff... We had an investigator that came to church today! Ion is his name and he is the one I told you finally prayed in our lesson after saying in our very first lesson that he would never pray. So on Saturday night we called him to let him know that we were going to go to his house to pick him up for church (he lives real close) and he didn't like that at first, saying that he was way too busy, but he finally agreed saying that he would probably leave sometime during the first hour because he had way too much to do. bine.

So we went and picked him up, and he came and really listened to all of it...the speakers were perfect for him and what he needed to hear about the spirit, about what it means to be a member of this church, and about how happiness is possible in this life by living the gospel as seen in the Book of Mormon. So after the meeting, Sora Kiriyama asked him how it was, and he said "it was good, it was different... but I'll have to stay more to see what I really think." Sora Kiriyama said "You know, you're right, you'll just have to stay." Then the branch president came up and explained to him that the next hour is more interactive and would he please stay, and so of course he did, and he stayed for all three hours. He felt the spirit, and it was a great experience.

He said at the end of church that "I'll have to change my way of thinking, but it was good." and I said, "Well of course. This is a new way of living, but it's the way that gives us happiness." He said he would pray to know if that was true. It was a great miracle that he came and stayed, for which I was very grateful.

We weren't able to find any new investigators this week, but we started receiving some pretty creative rejections. But it's ok. I'll just tell you 2 because they were hillarious purely by the fact that they were overly rediculous.

We block knocked into some girls that were muslim, all speaking fluent Arabic and French. One spoke a little English and only one knew Romanian. so it was interesting trying to teach them, and I really don't know why they let us in. They eventually told us they didn't want to hear what we had to say and that we were the ones that needed to search for the truth. It was a very odd experience.

Then last night we were block knocking. In order to get into the block they have an interphone and you dial the room number and they answer, you ask them to open the door for you and they either do and you knock on the doors, or you don't and you keep ringing in. So last night we were outside of a block and rang in and every single person rejected us on the interphone. I've never had that happen before. Usually someone lets you in even if they don't want to listen, but every one... Some of them thought about it before they hung up, and there was even a couple that conversed for a few minutes over the interphone with each other about if they should let us in or not, and then decided not to. But it was so funny.

There was a man who answered the interphone but then started to talk to us out of his window (Romanians do that a lot) and yelled at us and told us that we couldn't talk to anybody else in that block. We only had one door left, but he kept yelling at us. Finally he shut his window. Then a man accross the street came out and we started talking to him, and the man in the window yelled at us for still talking to him. I told him that we were talking to the man accross the street. "well, talk to him, not to me." That was funny because I was only talking to him cuz he yelled at me, so I responded. H e sat there for about 5 more minutes at his window, so we walked away for a little before we went to the last door...and the interphone decided not to work. We'll go back to that door, because that block was just sooo funny. We were laughing so hard about it. It is the new way to do block knocking with out climbing all the stairs, ha ha ha.

But we found some good people who will hopefully become investigators and progressing investigators in this next week. But it was a good week full of work.

I have a question for Ross - how did he go about talking to Muslim people so that they would listen? There are a lot of muslim people here in Constanta and it's tricky when you're used to talking to people who are Orthodox and then you switch to Muslim mode, and I don't know what to do. So if he has any advice he could email me that would be great.

Oh, and a story for shaley...we teach english classes here, and the subject the other day was on decisions...so I decided to teach them about your decisions making kit that Cherisse gave you as a gag-gift, and the process of how to make a decision. They actually really liked it, and it reminded me of you, and it was funny that they needed it so spelled out. They took it pretty serious, too...it was great.

Oh! and yes, Jeri, I get all of your letters and thank you so so much. I love hearing about your friend, Francie, and I've been praying for her to be accteptive to the gospel message when you are able to meet with her. But yeah, I'm doing good, and I'm loving it here.

I'm glad that brother Kemp was able to go to church on Sunday.

Tam, that's awesome that you're in the advanced part of your violin book, that's so cool. and piano will help you with your violin to know the theory better if you want to do that that would be neat.

I love all of you so so very much. I know that the plan that God has for us is perfect, and it is true. It is revealed to us in its perfect form through a prophet on the earth today, and that is one of the ways that we can know that God loves us so much. I know that God loves us, and that he has prepared the way for each of us to be able to return to him, and that way is through Jesus Christ. Like it says in Revelations, He opens the door when we knock on it. This is His desire... for each of us to come to him, and when we do, He is able to heal us and to lead us where we can be with our family for eternity.

I know that these things are true, and these truths are what change your life so that you can have happiness now and later...the purpose of the gospel is to give us joy now and to prepare us for the eternal joy that is to come. These are the things that I'm praying for the people of Romania to receive a testimony about, because once they receive a spiritual witness and act upon it, that is when they will be able to come to know Jesus Christ and receive the promises that He has given to us all.

I love you all so so very much ,and I hope that your week is just fantastic! Love you lots!

Always, --Sora Karina