Wonderful Journey

Hello everyone!

I have a couple of things to say this week, and we'll be talking a lot more about all of it another time. But I wanted to say that first of all, this was a great week. We worked hard, the weather was mostly helpful, and the work just keeps going forward.

Ionela is praying!!! Yay it makes me so happy. She still doesn't feel like she has received an answer yet, but it is an eternal truth that if we ask in sincerity of heart, the Lord will answer in His own way and His own time. But the answer will be for us in a way that we will not be able to doubt. I told her that, and she got really happy and is trying to find the answer. With that attitude, her heart will change, and it will be a beautiful miracle in her life.

Danuta is doing well, having spiritual experiences and is getting closer to wanting to ask God if it is true. She knows it's true, but she doesn't know if she should get baptized. She said "If God wants me to get baptized here, then I'll do it with all of my heart, but He'll let me know." I asked her if she had asked Him if He wants her to get baptized here. "No." "Well, how can you know what He wants unless you ask Him?" She thought about that and said, Yeah, maybe I should ask Him. But I'll ask Him when I know that I'll be willing to do what He asks. That is wise, but we also need to recognize and always remember that He will help us to accomplish what He asks of us, because He knows that it will bring us happiness.

Andreea and her little sister Sonia are doing good. They want to get baptized - but they want to learn more first and to be prepared for the new life they will live. The Spirit of God testifies to us to help prepare us to live the gospel, and living the gospel helps us to prepare to live for eternity with God. So everything is a preparation, and with each step God strengthens us and helps us to come closer to Him. That is the point. To get close to God. And not just close to Him, or near Him, but to be with Him - and even like Him - so that we can receive the same eternal happiness that He has. And this is possible through and only through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and His atonement. And it is wonderful.

I often think to myself, how is it possible for people to change so much? When you think about the natural instinct of people to fight for them, with their way of thinking, and then you think about Jesus Christ, how He lived and how He desires for us to be like Him, it's almost impossible to comprehend. And then I remember. God is our Father. We have the potential to be like Him, to be where He is. And that potential is made possible for us through the infinite sacrifice made by our Savior. And if He was able through the power of God and with His love for us to give His life for each one of us individually, then that sacrifice has a lot of power connected to the eternities. And since He suffered for each of us one by one, then each one of us has the ability to receive some of that power. All that He asks is for us to come to Him, to love Him in both word and deed, and to believe. That belief is something that can move mountains, that can sustain hope for an unknown future, change a heart, or even just give you a reason to smile even when you can't find anything else.

God loves us. Infinitely. Perfectly. And this is something that we can always find joy in. This is something that will always tell us that no matter who we are and what we are, we still have the ability to become who He knows we can be. I am so grateful that we can receive the power of the Atonement in our daily lives - if we would receive it - through the restored and perfect gospel of Jesus Christ. God's love is wonderful and it is so real. Tangible even, in our lives. It is with faith that we can have eyes to see.


Random funny thing: This is a saying from Moldova, not from Romania, but it is still super funny. "i bot la in ghips" (Ee boht lah un gheeps) which litterally means to "put your mouth in a sling" or in other words, shut up. I laughed so hard when Sora Gogu explained to me what it meant...and now we say it randomly just cuz it is really funny to say. There is also the one where you say "iti faci ca o oaie" (uts fach cah oh waeeyay) which is an expression that means that you're acting like an old lady, but the litteral translation is "your making yourself like a sheep." HAHAHA Yup, that one got me laughing to tears.

Now, I do need to say that I love Romania so much. I have loved being able to share my soul with the people, and enjoying the beauties of the earth even amidst all of the poverty and sadness. Happiness was found every step of the way. This is the work of the Lord, and it is not finished. It will go forward until the Father Himself shall say that "the work is done." We still have some time, and I am grateful that each of us are called to this work if we have a desire to give all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. And He sustains us in it. This has truly been a wonderful journey, and it is not over. Neither is this blog, so don't worry. You'll hear from me again - just turn on your computer about once a week and we'll be able to smile together.

I'm sure that there are a lot of other things that I could say, but none of them are coming to my mind right now. So I will end by saying that I know that God lives. He loves us. Jesus Christ is our Savior, and it is through Him that we can return to live with God again. God doesn't change. How He worked in the time of Adam, Noah, and Abraham, He still works that way. I know that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored by the power of God through Joseph Smith. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and helps us to more fully understand what is taught in the Bible so that we can not be led astray by the interpretation of men.

I know that God still works through a prophet, and that prophet today is Thomas S. Monson. I know that God desires for each of us to return to Him, and in accordance to that desire, He has given us the ability to choose, and to find out for ourselves if these things are true. All we have to do is desire to know, and ask Him through prayer. He will answer. I know because He answered me, and I'm not anyone extremely special for Him to answer me and not to answer the rest of you. We are all His children. I know and am so grateful for the knowledge that God created our families so that we can be together forever - even after death - and that this is made possible through the Priesthood Power of God in His holy Temples.

I know that as we are faithful to Him, all things (especially the bad things) will be for our good and will help lead us to our eternal joy. I pray that each of us will be able to continue to work and fight for that joy that God so badly wants to give to us, and of these things I testify in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Don't forget that I love you all so very much, more than I can type. Smile lots! Always, --Sora Karina

Dancing Along

Hey hey hey! How are you? I'm doing just wonderful.

The weather this week was a lot nicer - we didn't melt as much, and it got into a wonderful pattern of raining at night and being cooler during the day. So that was lovely. And we had a pretty fun week.

Sora Gogu has been trying to get me to bake her an American cake for this entire transfer, but I'm not good at making cakes. But I finally gave in and told her that I would try, but that I wasn't promising anything. So I made a cake - it turned out really sweet, but the important thing is that it turned out! She ate each piece with a half a can of whipped cream practically because it helped it not taste so sweet. But meh, I'm not complaining, and neither is she.

Also, this week I've been trying to teach her how to play chess. It's really funny because she keeps getting the pieces mixed up with what moves they can do and such, and the other day she got frustrated because the pawn couldn't kill by going straight forward, nor could it move backward and said "well, what can he do?" I explained for the umpteenth time what a pawn can do and she said in frustration "well, he is not a profitable servant - useless!" I laughed a little and I said "Oh, come on. He can still kill the King if you put him in the right spot." "Yeah, and what spot is that so that I can kill you?" Oh, it was a fun game. But I think that we're taking a break from the game for a little bit lol.

Also, we went block knocking with Camelia (a girl in our branch who is always begging for us to take her to do missionary work) and we went into a block and either no one was home, or no one was listening. But when it was suggested that we leave the block, we all said, "no, we are here for something, there has to be someone here that needs us." On the next floor down, the second door that we knocked, we found Sora Georgescu. She is less active because she doesn't have the health or the strength to come to church, and none of us knew that she lived there, but she hasn't been visited in at least 2 months and really needed a visit and some uplifting words.

So we shared a message with her about faith and hope, and how Jesus promises us that if we will have faith in him, he will give us the power that we need to do whatever is needful. And then through that promise, it tells us that we can hope for miracles to happen in our lives, and that faith actually gives us the ability to open our eyes, recognize the hand of God in all that we do, and that alone becomes a miracle. (Moroni 7). And even though we didn't find any new people to teach, (in fact everyone in that block rejected us) God knew the need of one of his daughters, and helped us to know where to go to fill the needs in His work at that time. And for that I am very grateful.

Another fun thing that happened this week is the Heinrich family invited Sora Gogu and I over for dinner. They are an American family that came out here for 3 months for the husband's work...but they really liked it, so they stayed for a year instead. They are leaving to go back to America in 3 weeks. But their daughters (Eva 5, Audry 3, charlotte 1) really wanted us to come over for dinner, and it was so cute to be with those little girls. After dinner we shared a spiritual message with them about how we can have a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father through prayer and by taking the sacrament. One fun thing was that the dad asked his girls, "Do you know how old you need to be in order to be a sister missionary?" and Audry said "Um, 6?" And the dad was about to say "no, 21" but I interrupted and said "Audry, you are exactly right, in fact you don't need to be six to be a sister missionary, you can be a missionary right now." Her eyes got so big and she said "really?" Of course. Anyone can set an example, come closer to Christ, and invite those around them to come and do it, too. That's what a missionary is. We then of course clarified and said "but if you want to wear a tag like I'm wearing, then you need to be at least 21 years old." She looked a little serious and said "that's a long time. I'm glad that I don't need to wait until then to actually be a missionary, I'm just waiting for the tag!" Oh my goodness, how right she is. It was so cute.

Random Romanian saying inserted in the middle of the email today: "Sa dansezi cum iti canta" (sah dansayz coom uts cuntah) it means to dance how it is sung to you. Basically, if someone says jump, you say "how high?" But I loved it because of the way that Irina explained it to me..."When they say 'trah la la' you move like this and like that and when they say 'trah loo loo' then you need to change your moves or else it's bad news." I laughed a lot with that one. And of course Irina and Sora Gogu laughed at me because of how funny I thought it was...Oh well, at least we were all laughing.....

As for our investigators, Ionela is doing good. She's praying and just waiting for an answer. Danuta believes in what we're saying to her, but she doesn't understand how that leads to her getting baptized, and Andreea and Sonia are willing but are currently out of town. But things are moving forward and they will progress. We are trying to help our investigators have the faith to take the step to be baptized. There is always a lot to anticipate when you can see how they are prepared because we know what to look for, and we know where they came from and where they will be going. But they don't see it. It is hard to see something like that in yourself, and when we know that it can happen we just do everything that we can to help them see through our eyes what they can have and who they can be. And of course, seeing how God knows where we came from since the beginning and and knows where we can be in the ending, His vision is even larger, and He is doing all that He can to help us all have an eye single to His glory.

He will continue to give us strength in His work to go forward and to help His children see how they can return to Him, and even to be like Him. It is a wonderful work, and it is moving forward. And it will always move forward so long as we trust in our God.

This is a little something that Adrian said: "We have ton's of challenges in our life but as long as we still have something to hold on to, it's alright and we can actually smile. I remember when some times I was traveling through the country and hitchhiking with my brother and sometimes we had to walk in the middle of the night for 3-4 hrs, and we didn't have money or food (cause' we were heading home so all our money was gone :D ), but we were happy. It was dark, ok, but we kept singing something so in that way we were bringing light around us. We were supporting each other if something bad happened (like once Radu had a problem with his knee) just by joking a lot and not being sad with the situation that we were in. Because we knew that tomorrow we will be home, in our beds resting and probably two days later, back on the roads. It's the same with God: no matter how hard is it, no matter how dark is it we still have our father to laugh with us, to take care of us, to bring light in our way and in the end we have the hope of being with Him in the Celestial World... to be home..."

It is so true. God is on our side. He wants so badly for us to return to be home with Him in His Kingdom. And it is through His restored church, through His priesthood and baptism and keeping the commandments and prayer and most importantly through our own personal desire and dedication to get there, that it is made possible. The Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to have a possibility, and then through Him we receive the strength we need to put our dedication into practice, and we will make it. I know that God prepares a way for us to do all that is needed. He performs miracles in our lives if only we would open our eyes to see them. And then we are able to recieve a comfort that He is still by our side just like He promised, and we can move forward in the confidence of our spirit, the loving guidance of our Lord, and in the hope that we will make it - just as He promised as long as we keep our promises to Him.

This truly is the source of our joy, and this joy is eternal. All is well here, I hope that all is well there. Keep smiling, keep going forward, for we are moving on to the victory of eternal life and the glory of our God. I love you all so so very much, and I will have more to say next week.

Keep your chin up, shoulders back, back straight, and have fun. Love always, --Sora Karina

Bond, James Bond

Hello everyone! How are you? I'm doing great. The weather cooled down a little bit this week - it has been raining at night and getting sunny and hot during the day, so that has been nice. This week seemed like a hectic one, even though at the end it didn't really seem like anything got done. But oh well, some fun things happened.

I have to tell you this story because it is the best find ever in the time of doing missionary work...Dad, I know where James Bond lives. He lives on Strada Stefan Cel Mare (The Big Steven Street) in Sector 1 here in Bucuresti. For real, I saw his door. Sora Gogu and I were bloc knocking and we came down the stairs and there was a large closet in front of this door and we were like what the heck is this thing here for? And then we were able to see the front of the door and I was dying, I couldn't believe how the owner of the door had decided to declare that they were Apartment number 7 - or should I say 007? We took pictures and I'm sending them to you, because they are amazing. Anyways, I thought that you would enjoy that.



We had a talent show for all of Bucuresti which was extremely unorganized, but it turned out ok in the end. When I say ok, I mean that a lot of the individual acts didn't go the way they should have (ours included) but that it was still fun and the general public really enjoyed everything so I will go ahead and call it a success.

It was kinda funny because President Doru from the district presidency asked if Elder Lyon and I would do something so we started trying to figure out what we would do for Saturday. On Wednesday I think it was I got a call from some of the missionaries on the East side of Buc and they asked me what they were doing for the thing on Saturday. "What do you mean what are we doing?" "Well, we were told that you are in charge of the number that all of the missionaries in Buc are doing, so what is it?" ......uh, I'll get back to you on that. So then I had the wonderful assignment of trying to figure out what a group of 19 people can do and put together in 3 days.

So Elder Lyon and I changed the song that we were doing and decided that the rest of the missionaries could just make the theatrical part of the song. And luckily we had Adrian to help us out with getting the music and putting it together. We sang a song from the musical "Wicked" called "Dancing through Life." But we didn't sing the whole thing, just a good part of it until it made sense to stop. And it was really funny because if you don't know the song, it talks about how stressing about school is dumb, you should just not care about anything, sluff off whatever you can, be happy, and dance through life so that you can enjoy it. Well, we changed a couple of the words to be about missionary work instead of about school, and it turned out great. We even got President Lundberg into it at the beginning, all the missionaries were sitting and studying their scriptures and such and President Lundberg told them "Like I've said so many times this year, we need to be very very obedient in order for us to achieve the miracle of having 200 baptisms this year, and without strict obedience, we can not obtain this miracle...hold on." And he had to take a phone call and walked away, and Elder Lyon became Mr. Diva and sang his heart out about how we shouldn't stress about rules, but just have fun. And he went and closed the missionaries scriptures and things to try and get them to lighten up - he even loosed his tie and undid the top button *gasp!* hehe. It was great.

Unfortunately the sound people kinda ignored us and so it was really hard to hear Adrian's guitar, and the piano was way out of tune even though they swear that they tuned it two weeks ago, but that's ok. It was fun, and it got a good laugh out of the people that could understand English.

But oh my goodness, there was this little old lady that could just not stop herself from being on the stage. If there was any song played that had some type of a good beat, you bet your boots that she was up there in front of everyone dancing her little heart out with no reservation. And she had to be at least 75 years old, but I would give her 82 if I had to guess. And she just danced all night long - it was so funny. But I love Romania and how any get together can easily become a dance party, and it definitely became a dance party for the last half hour. Good times!

Other than that, we are praying to find new investigators and praying our hearts out that Ionela will pray to know if this is the truth or not. You can not come to a knowledge about spiritual things with out praying and asking God. It just doesn't work. And the reason why it works when we pray is because God loves us so so very much. He wants so much for us to know what He knows, to come to Him so that we can find the eternal happiness that He has. He doesn't want us to be confused, and if He is God, and and God is all-knowing and all-powerful, then why would He not have the knowledge that we are asking for, and the power to give it to us in a way that is personal and powerful to us individually? The answer is that He does, and He is just waiting for us to do our part. He tells us "ask and ye shall receive, seek, and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you." This is an amazing promise, and I know that God keeps His promises.

So I know that if Ionela (or any one of you) will just go to your Father in Heaven who loves you, He will tell you what to do. The time will come, and all will be well, and there will be much rejoicing in heaven and on earth among the children of God.

I love you all so so very much, and I'll talk to you all again next week. Good luck with all of your comings and goings, and don't forget to have fun!

I love you, Always, --Sora Karina

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Hello everyone, how are you? I'm doing great. Drinking a lot of water and getting a work out just by fanning myself because it is HOT!

All this week it has been over 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) Which I know that you all think "oh, that's nice and not too bad"...well not when you're in Colorado or Utah where it's not humid - but here it is pretty ridiculous. And it makes missionary work just a little more difficult. Either people are not on the street because it's too hot outside and so there's no one to talk to, or no one is at home because it's too hot inside and so there is still no one to talk to. It makes you wonder how in a city so huge people can disappear so that no matter what you try to do to find people to talk to it just doesn't work. But that's ok.

We are still having success and we are grateful for that. Just last night we had this problem. We wanted to talk to people on the street, and there was no one on the street. So we tried to go bloc knocking, but no one was answering the inter-coms which meant that either A) everyone was ignoring the really annoying beeping noise that occurs when someone calls into the bloc or B) once again no one was home. So I suggested that we go to the park and see if anyone was there, and Sora Gogu agreed, even though she really really does not like park contacting. I just didn't see what else there was to do, so we went to the park and it was full of people. Sora Gogu expressed her lack of hope by saying "great, now we know where all the people are, and none of them are going to listen to us." Well not when you have that attitude...we have the greatest message on the earth to share and there has to be at least one person in this park that wants to hear the greatest message on earth.

So we started trying to find that one person. I am so grateful for the Spirit and the guidance that it gives us in every day, even in the little things. Just smiling at someone or saying hi to someone that you usually wouldn't give second thought to can result in wonderful things - whether you are actually present to see the results or not. A lot of times when we are contacting people, we don't contact men because it makes things less complicated at times.

But there was a man on a bench that we both felt like we should go and talk to him. He seemed interested so I asked if we could please sit down and share our message quickly with him. He was happy to do so and he listened intently. I don't know how much of it he really understood, but he was excited to read the Book of Mormon and as he put it "to increase my faith." That is exactly what he will be doing. It isn't about changing one's faith, because true faith is in God and in Jesus Christ. Our purpose is to help people build their faith on true principles so that their faith can grow and so that they can come closer to God and Jesus Christ, and this will bring them joy. No other message can do this for people.

And it is so apparent in the lives of the people that we work with in every day how this message really does change their lives when they apply it. Ionela loves what we teach her and she just feasts on it. She doesn't recognize yet that she loves it because it's true, she just loves how she feels. I pointed out to her the other day that the feeling of peace and happiness is the Holy Ghost which testifies of the things that we are doing right to get closer to God. She was a little taken aback by the fact that she had felt the Spirit of God, but was also excited about it. She came to church on Sunday, and I was so excited that she came. It was a good meeting, too.

She was really interested in the topic of genealogy and what we can do to help our grandparents and ancestors. Her grandparents died recently and they were very close to her and she wanted to know exactly what she could do to help them. Adrian was helping me explain it to her about the Temple and how we are able to help them come unto Christ through baptism just as we are able to do so, and she asked why that was even necessary. Adrian said "if you choose to be a part of the true church of Jesus Christ, wouldn't you want them to find the same happiness that you have found, and to have the same opportunities as you have to be closer to God by making sacred covenants with Him?" The answer of course is yes. We have the blessing to know that families are made to last forever and to be eternal. And if families are eternal, then I'm going to want to do all that I can to make sure that that eternity is full of joy in the kingdom of God.

Church was also wonderful with Irina's confirmation. The spirit was so strong and she was just beaming. She is definitely such a great example to me of how regardless of our situation, we can always find joy in the teaching and living the gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what we lived before or who we think we are, through the Atonement and sacrifice and love of Jesus Christ, He will help us become who He knows that we can be starting now. If we begin now to come unto Him in the way that He has asked us, He will be by our side through the entire journey helping us overcome our personal stumbling blocks until we are able to find our way onto His path, which is the path that He promised is already prepared for us, so that we can have everlasting joy here in this life as well as in our eternal life with the Father. No, this life is not easy, nor should it be. But He tells us that we need not fear, for He has overcome the world. And if we would just follow Him, we will find peace, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This is a beautiful promise for any and all who desire to find a refuge in their days of toil and tears. I know that this plan and this path is for every single one of us, and He calls us to it one by one, personally.

This past week was also the week of Zone Conference. It was fun to be together as a group of missionaries again. You always find so much strength in the friendships that you have with people who are a strength to the soul. I find that every time we get together because we just help each other be happy and we lift each other up in the work that we are doing, and it is wonderful. We talked a lot about the power of the Book of Mormon and how it has the power to change lives. I just want to bear my testimony that that is true. The Book of Mormon truly does have in it the power of God to change lives as we read it and apply it's teachings in our lives. We will feel in our lives a stronger spirit and a deeper resolve to do what is right as we read it daily. It really does have answers to life's questions and it has the word of God. Try it. I can't prove it to you, but I invite you all to read it to find how it can bless your life, and I promise you that it will.

The Bible is also the word of God and is wonderful. The Book of Mormon helps us understand the Bible, and with both of the books put together, no man can make a mistake of what the will of God truly is for us. Read it, and your days will be happier.

Other than that, I feel like I'm in the movie "The Wizard of Oz" every day because here in Romania instead of saying "I'm burning up" when you're really hot, they say "Ma topesc" (muh tohpehsck) which means literally "I'm melting". And sometimes some people really do look like they are melting - especially when the air conditioning in the chapel doesn't work so Sacrament Meeting takes place in a large oven....fun times. But really, life is great, it is wonderful, and it is a gift from God.

I pray that you are all safe and doing well, and that you are also finding joy in your journey back to God. I love you all so so so very much. I know that I can never say that enough, but I hope that you are able to feel that love through my prayers for you and your prayers for me. I feel those prayers every day, and I am so grateful for them.

Thank you for all that you do, so keep doing it. Have fun, do good, be happy, and I'll write more next week.

Love ya! Always, --Sora Karina

God's love is for Everyone

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I'm doing wonderful!
I don't have too much time to write today (sorry) but I'll try to get a lot of the good stuff in.

First of all, yesterday Irina was baptized, and it was wonderful. It was quite stressfull at the beginning because her bags went missing with her towel and everything in it, and we didn't know where it had gone, but luckily Adrian had the baptismal suite with him, so she was still able to have the one that fit her and so on. We didn't have time to try and get the bag situation figured out completely, so we just decided that we would worry about it later and to enjoy the amazing moment that was at hand.

I'm so glad that we did that because the baptism really was amazing. Sora Gogu and I spoke about baptism and the Holy Ghost and what amazing blessings they are to us in our lives, why they're important, and why God wants so badly for us to take those steps in our life so that we can come back to Him. Then President Fotea, the branch president, baptized Irina. She told us afterward that she wasn't expecting the water to be cold. She didn't want to go under in cold water, but then she said, "Nope, I couldn't turn back because I had to become the new Irina that God wants me to be." And she was smiling for the rest of the day. I think that is the best part for me - just seeing how happy she is, and knowing that it is a true, eternal joy that is in her heart that can't be erased as she continues on the path she starts out on with the step of baptism. That joy is real, and that joy is what God wants for each of us, and it is so possible for every single one of us as God's children. No matter where we are, who we are, or who we think we are, we are children of God. And we have the potential to have the joy of our Father in Heaven. He's doing everything that He can to give it to us, and now it's our choice to accept it and do all we can in our life to be able to be in a position to receive it.

This is Irina, looking beautiful before her baptism.

Myself, President Fotea, Irina and Sora Gogu

Adrian, (who was baptised just a week ago and was confirmed on the day of Irina's baptism), with Irina

Myself and Sora Petrisor (my Romanian MTC language teacher) with Adrian after his confirmation.

It was so endearing talking to Irina afterwards about her feelings. Remember that she is still without a home, without a real future in sight, and even though she makes a little money here and there off of what she can, her life is not one of comfort. But as we were on our way to Adrian's home to eat together, she told me; "Sora Karina, I don't know if this is the right way of thinking, but it is the picture that is in my head... Right now, they are having a party in heaven for me. God is looking down and saying, 'Yes! She can come home! That's my daughter, and she can come home now.' And they have the party complete with balloons and confetti, and I could be the most beautiful girl in the world today. I feel like the daughter of an emporer, and I'm a princess today no matter where I'll be sleeping." How right she is. She is the daughter of a Heavenly King, and He truly is rejoicing when each one of us chooses to come back to Him. It was wonderful.

Now for another fun story, on Tuesday someone called us telling us that they had never had a chance to meet with us and wanted to meet and could we please? Of course I said "Yeah, how about on Thursday at this time and this place?" She was perfectly fine with it, and she was talking as if she knew exactly who I was, so I asked her to remind me of her name before I hung up - "Ionela". Ok. I hung up the phone and I looked to Sora Gogu and told her, "I have no idea who that was, but we're meeting with her on Thursday." Alright. ...So we get there on Thursday and found each other through the wonder of cell phones, and she realized that we weren't the same missionaries that had asked her to take their picture a few months ago, which is how she even received a small pamphlet. She thought, "I have nothing going on right now, so I'll call those girls up." Ionela is probably one of the cutest girls I have ever met. She's 23 and has such a great grasp on the concept of what it means to hold high standards. S said she doesn't see the point of church, because if all you're going to do is go to church to kiss the icons and to praise God and forget Him as soon as you leave the doors, then you are better off to just pray in your own way at home, or wherever you are, and just try to be a good person.

She is exactly right. If you are going to church or those reasons, then there is no point in going. But if there could be a church where you actually came closer to God and Jesus Christ and actually learned what their will is, and how to follow it, then wouldn't it be important? She sure thought so. We finished talking to her and set up for a few days later to meet with her. But on the way out she asked us what we were doing every day all day. "This. We talk to people, we teach people, and we try to help people and invite them to learn more about what we believe." So she asked us what we were doing right then. We were on our way to teach Irina a lesson, and she asked if she could come with us to see. Of course!

She came and loved it, and then when I made sure that we could still meet in a few days she said "Yeah, but how about tomorrow?" She is so willing to learn about what God has in store for her. She isn't sure that if she prays that she'll get an answer. So she doesn't pray. But I know that God answers all prayers - in His own way and own time, but He does answer. And since He loves us so much and wants us to come back to Him, of course He will answer a simple question about if something is true or not, and how we can truly return to Him. She'll get there to that knowledge and that joy, and I'm excited to see it happen.

And once again, God continues to work miracles. Even though she had a test that she had to take on Sunday and wasn't going to be able to come to church, or Irina's baptism, somehow things worked out to where she was able to manage to come to the last hour of church and to stay for the baptism. It was great. People say that God works in mysterious ways, and I guess that's true to the extent that we don't always know how He accomplished what He does, but really, it is so obvious what He's working to do. He is working for the salvation and happiness of His children - and He will never stop doing that.

Sora Hupp and me. It was sad to see her go, but she will do great!

Ok, and now something fun. The word "balamuc" (bahlamook). It means nut house or crazy house, and it's a really fun word. And here is a fun expression: "Calul de dar nu se cauta la dinti" (Cahlool day dahr noo say cowtah lah deents) And it means; if you are given a gift, just take it, don't look for the bad parts. If you are given a pink blouse but you don't like pink, you say thank you very much and then decide later if you'll wear it or not. You don't say "I don't like pink." The literal translation is "the gift horse is not looked for in the teeth." This is because when you buy a horse, the first thing you do is check to see if the teeth are good or not. But if you're given a horse as a gift, you won't do that because it's a gift. I don't know if that really makes sense, but that's what it means.

Anyways, I'm going to go now, and I hope that I am leaving with all being well at home. I love you so so very much, and I'll be excited to tell you all about this next week!

Have fun, smile lots, and don't forget I love you! --Sora Karina

Joy in Every Moment

Me and Sora Gogu, my new companion

Monday, May 31, 2010

Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I really hope that all is well. This week was a really great one.

On Tuesday the Boboci came in (bohboche) or the new missionaries. Boboc is Romanian for "duckling" which is a perfect description of how you feel when you arrive in the country. You don't know anything, you realize exactly how little you know, and all you do is follow whoever is leading at the moment, and that's pretty much how it goes. So we got to take them out for their first night. There are three new sisters (boboace - bohbwachay) And we got them a saorma (shahohrmah) to eat which is a really yummy romanian chicken wrap, to describe it simply, and then we parted ways.

Sora Hupp took one of the boboace with her and Sora Jay (a sister that was with us because her companion went home) to go teach a lesson to one of our recent converts. Sora Hupp was scared to death because Cornel, the person they were teaching, doesn't speak English at all, and Sora Hupp is in her 2nd transfer. Sora Jay is in her 1st transfer, and then they had a boboaca. But they did fine just like I knew that they would. Plus it's experiences like that, that help you realize how much you really know and that you are capable to do more than what you've been getting by with for the past little while.

I took the other 2 boboace with me to go and teach Adrian a lesson. I told Adrian that he needed to speak in Romanian the whole time (because usually we teach him in English) and he did a good job until I translated something back and forth between him and the boboace and he said in English "Sora Karina, if you're going to translate, then I'm not going to speak in Romanian anymore." Both of the boboace said "Awwww, not fair!" and my response was "Yes, he speaks perfectly but he's not allowed to speak in English!" And he called out something from the kitchen where he was at the time, and we went on from there. It was funny, but it went well. We did teach him in Romanian, and he was able to help the sisters with what they were trying to say. They weren't exactly confident with what they wanted to say - until I asked them to testify about the restoration of the church. That is when it seemed that they didn't care about the mistakes that they made... they just wanted so bad to express their feelings about the truth that they know. And that is when the Spirit of God carries what they say - correctly spoken or not - to the hearts of all present. We each three testified, and then I asked Adrian if he would express his testimony to them, too.

I loved the experience of being able to sit there, and to feast on the Spirit that was so tangible, that was so real, bearing testimony of the truths that we were saying, and being able to share in the joy that we have each found from this knowledge and living in accordance to that knowledge. I asked them how they felt about the lesson afterward and they said "Holy cow! We're actually in Romania, teaching in Romanian to a Romanian!" Yeah, that's how it goes. But it was way fun, and they did great.

Wednesday was transfers which is always tiring whether you are traveling or not, but all went well. I was sad to say goodbye to Sora Hupp, but I'm excited to serve with Sora Gogu. She is from the Republic of Moldova and her first language is Russian. She knows Romanian very well though (it's her 2nd or 3rd language, and one of the main languages in parts of her country) and she knows a little English. She can understand most of it if you speak slowly, and she can speak English a little. She is learning though. We speak Romanian together all the time (obviously) except for our one hour during lunch. We speak in English then to help her learn better how to speak. (Except I'm forgetting it a little as you can see! Ha, ha)

But I am enjoying serving with her. She doesn't walk as fast as I do so I'm needing to learn how to walk slower. (lol) Other than that things are going really well. Adrian was confirmed a member of the church yesterday and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was wonderful.

Church was really nice. As we were sitting in Sunday School, some things were said that really made me think. We were talking about the Atonement of Christ, what it is, how He sacrificed everything for us, why it is necessary for our salvation and so on. Then the question was asked, how do we apply the Atonement in our life? The answer was given that we have faith in Him, we repent daily, we are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost through His authority and then renew the covenants made through the sacrament each week and endure to the end. The teacher than said "Yes, and enduring to the end is one of the most important things, and it is hard work isn't it? We have a lot to do because we're not finished and we need to try to work as much as we can to stay on that path." Then I realized how boring that sounds. And not only boring but discouraging. yeah, come to the way of Christ which is the way of truth and light, and then get ready for a bunch of hard work that you need to endure. But it's not like that. I spoke up and said that enduring to the end is hard work, but really all it is, is being able to enjoy to the end the blessings that come from the Atonement and from being on the path of Christ.

I think that so many times we forget what the purpose of the commandments and of church and of all the things that we try so hard to do all the time really is. It is to have joy. The purpose of God giving us the choice to come to this earth - and the reason why we chose to come here - is so that one day we will be able to have the fullness of all that the Father has, a fullness of His joy. And yes, it is hard work, and yes there will still be trials and a bunch of not pleasant things that will happen in life, but with the knowledge and testimony of the gospel and the hope that we are able to have through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we truly can have that joy now, or at least a part of it which helps us to get to the end when we will truly be able to have that fullness.

The gospel is amazing that way. When we keep the commandments, we are happy. When we read the scriptures and strengthen our relationship with our Heavenly Father through prayer, we are happy. When we are doing all we can to be our very best and we are striving to improve our character and serve others we are happy. And it shows in our faces when we do this. Perfect example is Irina. I told you about her last week how she is homeless and how she came to church just to see if she could find a place that would accept her and give her peace. Well, we've been working with her throughout this week and the change that can be seen in her is beautiful.

At the beginning she was shy and slightly ashamed of herself and although she accepted her situation and said that she was happy because there are people who have it worse than her, you could tell that she wasn't happy with who she was, and she was still feeling the guilt of her life pushing down on her. But in just one week the change has been dramatic and wonderful. She is reading the Book of Mormon and is praying to God - knowing that He loves her and that He will help her. She is searching for answers in the scriptures and she gets so excited when she finds them. She knows that she is in a bad situation, but she has a hope for the future and knows that she can pick herself up and start again, and she is trying to do this. She told us that she wants to get baptized and I told her that I was really excited for her, and I wanted to know why she wants this so bad and her answer touched me. "Because through baptism I will make a covenant with God, and I will become His. When I am immersed in the water, the old Irina dies, and when I come up out of the water, I can be clean, and I can truly say that I am a daughter of God. I will be able to be proud to say that Jesus Christ suffered for me, because I will have began to do what He has shown me that I must do, and I will be doing all that I can to thank Him." She got that without us teaching her what baptism is. She knew that because she had read the Bible, still had some questions and while she was reading the Book of Mormon she felt the Spirit testify that those words were a true confirmation of what she wanted to know. She prayed, and her prayers are so precious and sincere, telling God how happy she is that she found the place where He wants her to be and how happy she is knowing that she will be following Him soon by being baptized.

She is getting baptized this next Sunday, and her countenance shows how happy she is with or without a smile on her face. The difference and fullness of the gospel can be seen just by looking at her eyes. This gospel is true, and if ever there is a problem in our lives that needs to be solved, the greatest foundation on which we can build is the love of God found here in the restored church of Jesus Christ. Yes, God loves all of His children no matter where they are and no matter what they are doing. But it is here that they will be able to receive the fullness of the blessings that He wants to give to us because of that love - and that foundation will give us the strength in the time of any problem or trial so that we can move forward and truly enjoy to the end of each day and each moment.

I'm sorry that I don't really have any funny stories to tell you about this week - it was a great week, and yes I did laugh a lot as usual, but if I explained my laughter it would confirm the fact that I'm slightly crazy, and it would just be better to laugh about those things together anyways.

But I hope that you are all having an amazing week and that everything is going well. It is the beginning of the summer - enjoy it! Take care, and smile lots. I love you all so so so very much. I know that I say that each week, but regardless how many "so"s I put in there it just never seems to be sufficient. But I love you lots! tehe. Have a great day.

Always. --Sora Karina

Pictures of Adrian's baptism day

Adrian sent these pictures of his baptism for you all to enjoy.


Sister Gaby, Sister Karina, Adrian Buzan, Sister Hupp and Elder Dummar



Sister Karina, Adrian Buzan, Sister Hupp, and Elder Dummar

Adrian and Elder Dummar

Sister Karina, Adrian, and Sister Hupp

Adrian and Elder and Sister Van Orman

Sister Karina, Adrian and Sister Hupp

Elder Gunter, Adrian and Elder Dummar

Sister Hupp, Sister Karina, Adrian, and Elder and Sister Dummar

Yay, Happiness!

Hello everyone! How are you? I'm doing so wonderful.

I have a lot to tell you about this week - well, maybe it only seems like a lot, but we'll see how long this one ends up being. So I'll save the best for last and start with the fact that I am officially staying in Bucuresti, and Sora Hupp is leaving to go to Galati which will be super fun for her.

My new companion is Sora Gogu who is from the Republic of Moldova and she knows very little English. So I get to have fun speaking this amazing language all day every day with someone who can correct me as much as they want! I'm excited. It will be a way fun transfer I think.

With random news, there was a huge protest this past week in Piata Victorie, or the Square of Victoria which is about 10 minutes away from my house. There were hellicopters and crazy stuff, and about 40,000 people stuffed somehow in the streets of the square. Nothing too big happened, and it was just a lot of people being mad about a reduction in retirement funds and...it's not that important.

So this week was also Mission Counsel and Sora Hupp was invited to participate in that, and so I got to go on an exchange with Sora Turner who is a senior sister that works in the office, and we had lots of fun. We went park contacting in Herestrau park and we met this guy named Cezar who wanted to talk to us and we were glad to for the 15 minutes that we had time to before we had to go to meet up with Sora Hupp at President Lundberg's home. When that time came, he didn't want to stop talking, and so he decided to "lead us" there. At least that's how he said it and said "I'll lead you, I'll lead you" when really he was just following because he didn't even know where we were going. Neither did I because Sora Turner took us a way that I had never been before to get to the mission home, so we were both following her. Anyways, he could not stay on one topic. It was the most scattered "lesson" or discussion that I had ever been in, and as soon as we would start testifying about whatever we had just been trying to explain he would interrupt us and say "It doesn't matter because I don't believe in religion, I just want to go over the sounds of the English language so that i can speak better..." and blah blah blah. I don't know why he wanted to talk to us so much if he wasn't even going to listen. But that's what he did.

He followed us to the mission home where we were invited in by President and Sora Lundberg, and it just so happened that all the missionaries had just left so my companion wasn't even there, but we talked a while together which was good, but by then Sora Hupp and I were supposed to be in a lesson in 5 minutes on the other side of the city, and we weren't even together yet! So I excused myself and Sora Turner and once again Cezar said "I'll lead you" but this time I led by walking as fast as I could (which has made past companions have to run in order to keep up with me) so that I could get to the metro station where I was meeting Sora Hupp. We finally got together and ran as fast as we could to the metro, went to Unirii and grabbed a taxi. We were lucky and just happened to pick the best taxi driver ever so that when I told him "we need to be there fast, in fact, we need to be there now" he said "you got it" and he was going as fast as ever, honking at the other cars to get out of his way...it was funny. So we got to our lesson only 1/2 hour late instead of the hour and fifteen minutes that it would have normally taken with the buses and walking and such. It was good.

And so we arrived to the chapel where Adrian was just laying on the grass on a nice day reading the Book of Mormon and patiently awaiting us. Also, that day I hadn't been able to eat anything because of the exchange and travel and such (and we knew that would happen a few days previous) so he was extremely nice and made a meal for me and Sora Hupp - and for him, and we all sat and ate at the church as we discussed the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and prepared him for his baptism....we'll get to that in a minute.

So there is this really cool girl from English class named Andreea who looks like she should be 17 or 18 but is only 14, but she loves learning about the scriptures and the things that we have to say. She doesn't show much emotion, just sits there with her curly hair and glasses and analyzes every thing that we say, and then when we ask her if she has any questions she says either yes or no, if yes we answer and she nods her head in accord and if she says no she tells us she understands and teaches back what we just said in a 2-3 statement summary. She's cute though, and super fun. Her parents aren't interrested, is what she tells us, but she also says that they don't care about her interraction with us or whatever, so hopefully they won't get in the way of her being able to progress and more fully come unto Christ. Happy thing.

Sora Hupp and I went to Fratele Dobre's house this week - he's a member that is paralized on his right side and so is usually in a wheel chair and such. We went to go visit his wife who hasn't come to church in 2 years. We talked to her about the Temple, and Fr. Dobre had no reservation in saying in front of her "I'm sorry that she doesn't live worthy and come to church. I've been to the Temple but I've been without her and it's pointless doing that. I want her to come to the Temple with me." I asked her what she thought and she said that she knows she isn't worthy now to go to the Temple, but one day that would be nice. I told her that one day will never come unless she starts preparing now for that one day in eternity. I told her that she could go to the Temple in August when they have the dedication of the Kiev Temple if she starts now. She seemed slightly interested, and when the time came for her to say what she would do I told her "the blessings of being a member of the church of Jesus Christ are manifest to us as we do what we can to go to church and to come closer to God. Will you start doing this and come to church on Sunday?" "................ok." w00t!

Fr. Dobre still had some doubts and said that she had said that to many people before and she still might not come, but I said to him with her sitting there, "but she just promised me that she would come, so I know that it will happen." Oh the faith that you sometimes show in people that you only met about an hour previous. But she did come to church and was well received and she loved it. I was so happy for them. This will help them to go forward to be sealed for eternity as a family so that they will be able to continue their service for each other in a perfect world. How joyful will that be? I can't even describe it.

Also on Sunday a lady walked in to ask if she would be able to join in our Sunday services. Of course she could. She didn't seem convinced, but I assured her that we were more than happy that she would join us, and that there would be no problems caused by her presence. Her name is Irina, and at the end of Relief Society before we closed, the new presidency asked for the visitors to introduce themselves, and when Irina stood up she told us that she is a street child (was abandoned on the streets and raised herself like that, and still has no home) but that she is not here to ask for anything. All she wanted was a few hours of peace on Sunday, but every church that she had been to before had thrown her out or talked bad about her, and she was never received. So she hadn't been to church in 7 years.

Some time ago she was walking out of the store having bought bread and someone gave her a pamphlet for this church, and as she said it, it was just her luck that she got on the 226 bus that led her here. When she saw the church at the stop, she decided she would stop in to see if the people would receive her. I am so happy to say that she was well received. She said that she loved the lesson in Sunday School where we talked about the life of Christ and how He was made fun of, rejected, and left alone. "I have felt that way too in my life. But now I think about it, and I think that His sufferings are more than what I suffered, and He can help me." She stayed for the baptism, and we will hopefully be able to meet with her and talk to her more about how she can receive help at the hands of Christ this week. It was wonderful.

Ok, now I know that you are all wanting to know how the baptism went. It went wonderfully. That is really the best expression that I can come up with outside of amazing, perfect, great, and so on, but that's how it was. The week preparing for it was good - we continued to teach Adrian the things that had not yet been fully discussed or resolved and he told us "You know how I am with you teaching me? I'm like a spounge, I just want to drink it all up - tell me more, c'mon!" Hehe, it's been fun.

Saturday we had our English class, and the spiritual thought was on Faith and Baptism. Sora Hupp and I were in charge of it, so we talked about what faith was, and how faith always leads to action. We can't say that we believe and then just sit and do nothing, thanking God as we go along. We need to activate our faith in our heart and in our action - in all that we do so that it can be of worth to us. Then we invited Adrian to come up and tell the students about his decision to be baptized and why he did it and how he felt. He said some very nice things that I think helped prepare two of those students who were listening to accept a baptismal date later that day.

After lunch was the interview for the baptism, where he completely blew away Elder Oberhansly, who apparently hadn't completely believed us whenever we talked about the way Adrian spoke, learned, and comprehended the teachings of the Gospel. He must have thought that we were exaggerating because after the interview he said "Wow. He is more than prepared." God knew that, and helped him to be ready to receive this wonderful change in his life so that he would be able to come closer to Him, plus the help of the miracles that God performed in His amazing love and power. Then Elder Dummar took him back to the font to show him what would happen, and to practice the prayer. Elder Dummar is amazing, and memorized the prayer in Romanian... which, though it's not a hard thing to do, it would be difficult when you already have it engrained in your mind in both English and Spanish where the accents are completely opposite. But he did great.

The past couple of days it has been rainy and gloomy looking outside, but Sunday we woke up to a beautiful clear day with pretty clouds that God used for decoration in the sky that day. We got to the church and Adrian said that he was nervous and knew it would be a nice day, but wasn't expecting something too amazing.

Side note: Sora Hupp and I had a surprise for him for the baptismal program. He chose the speakers and everything, but he knew that there would be something in the middle that he didn't know about. He didn't worry too much over it because he didn't think that we would be able to do anything extremely special. Little did he know what we were capable of. He and Elder Dummar were dressed in white sitting in the front and I spoke on baptism - about how God only wants us to be able to come back to Him because each of us is precious, and how He knows how we can best do this. So He asks us to do some things that will help us, like baptism and prayer, and keeping His commandments and doing all those things that sometimes require a sacrifice. But it is how we become truly happy in the end.

Elder Gunter talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost and how it becomes our source of power as followers of Jesus Christ after we make the covenant with God to be that follower. Then came the surprise and Sora Hupp sang a solo for a special musical number and I played the piano for her. She is shy and not one to like spotlight at all, so she was nervous, but she sang beautifully and everything went perfect. The Spirit was so strong, and Adrian was very surprised. Elder Dummare said everything word perfect for the actual ordinance, and when Adrian came up out of the water he had the biggest smile on his face. I was so happy to know that he was that happy.

This is the point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the point of God's plan for us and for the life that Jesus Christ lived - for the life that we live: to find true happiness that will last through out eternity. I know that Adrian has found that - along with the other 5 people that were baptized this week across the country, with the people that are learning and growing because they are choosing to make those changes in their life. I too, have found that happiness, and that is why I'm here - to share it with everyone. This is what God asks of us: to learn of Him, come unto Him, and then help others to come, too. And it is so wonderful when people come.

Elder Bernier and Elder Harvey gave a presentation about the restoration of the Gospel while we waited for them to change, and then Adrian bore a sweet sweet testimony about the joy of coming closer to God and about the help that comes when you choose to step on that path. Like I said, it was quite amazing. I know that the hosts of heaven rejoice just as we can rejoice when the kingdom of God is built in our hearts and lives so that it can grow on this earth to prepare us for the wonderful things that are still to come in mortality and beyond into eternity. I would hope and pray that all of you would try to build that foundation of Christ in your life so that you, too, can taste of the joy that I promise will come as you strive to align your feet straight ahead on His path. Try it. Test it. The difference is worth it.

Well, I only have one thing left to tell you which is the fun saying that I learned this week - it's the saying that you would say if you got upset and don't want to deal anymore with whatever it is that you are dealing with. It's like saying "I don't want to do this anymore" and you say "imi iau jucariile si plec" (umm yow joocahreelay she pleck) which literally means "I take my toys and I'm leaving!" I thought it was funny.

But anyways, I love you all so so much. Shaley, congrats on your graduation! Tamara, hope all of your playing (piano and violin) went well, Jenna, I did love your email - it was that little piece of randomness that I needed for the day. Cherisse, I'm glad that you were able to have fun visiting home. Mommy and Daddy, you're just amazing as always.

Hey, and if you are able to, I don't know if you can before anything happens, but with Jane Francis, I would love it if you could tell her for me thanks for everything, and that always I am wearing the whole armour of God. She would tell us to do so every day after seminary as we would walk out to go to school. Thank you so much. But I love you lots and lots and we're happy as always!

Always --Sora Karina

Yipee!

Hello everyone! This week has been a great one.

So, I think that I'll start out with the funny story first. We were walking through Park Kiselff, and talking to people as they would listen about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Most of them were indifferent, but were polite and took a pliant (flier) or listened for a little bit. Then we stopped to talk to a lady sitting on a bench and she said we could sit with her for a little and share the message. We started talking to her about God's love for her and she just started laughing and laughing. She asked us what else we had for her in our message, and we told her that we have a living prophet on the earth and gshe looked at us for a few seconds without saying anything, trying to comprehend what we said, and then she said, "Are you from the extra-terrestrial group? "Uh, no, actually, we're from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." "Oh, well what's that?" "It is the restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth today that is led by Him through a living prophet." Yeah, I don't think she really comprehended what we were trying to say, but still, I thought it was funny.

After we parted ways with her, Sora Hupp turned to me and said, "Did she say something about extra terrestrials?" And when I explained, she said, "Yeah, I thought that, but that was just too weird to be what she said." And we laughed.

Then we found 2 young girls that were talking and we had a really good discussion with them. It was nice. I know that God loves all of His children and He wants them to go to Him for the answers. He has all of the answers and is willing to give them to us if we would just ask with a desire. Tose girls didn't understand and said that they were looking to see if there was something more about God, but they didn't want to go to Him to find out. Prayer is such a blessing, and it is given to us so that we can have a personal relationship with Him as our Heavenly Father. He doesn't want us to be confused, but rather He wants us to come unto the Light of the World, His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we can enter in at the gate and find true happiness. He is impatient to bless us and is waiting with arms open for us to go to Him, ask Him if He's there, if He loves us, and if there is a way for us to come to Him. I promise that He will show you that way. He has shown it to me, and I've seen it as he has helped many others find their way to Him, and He is not a respecter of persons--He loves each of us and desires each of us to return to His presence in the fullness of joy.

We are blessed with the amazing gift to be able to choose to do this according to our own actions. He will not force anyone to heaven, but He will lead and guide us as we seek and try. It is amazing the power that He will give us according to our weaknesses, so that we can accomplish the righteous desires of our hearts--to fulfill the work and the glory that He has established in the eternities. And nothing can stop this work from progressing. we are a part of it - we are His work and His glory and His joy. Should we not have joy in that fact? I think so, and it is amazing.

Ok, now exciting story time. First of all, I told you how Sora Petrisor (said Petreeshore), who was my teacher in the MTC, is here visiting. Well, her mom hasn't come to church for at least 4 or 5 years... and she came to church on Sunday! It was exciting, and Sora Petrisor was soooo happy. She came up to me and said, "Sora Karina, Sora Karina! That's my mom! Come and meet her!" She is a very nice lady. She probably felt a little overwhelmed at being back in such a long time, but it was a time to rejoice just as Jesus Christ says when the lost sheep is found, or when the prodigal son begins to turn around, we rejoice and bring them back with loving arms.

So then later last night, we had a lesson with Adrian, and it was a good lesson in the park. On the walk back to the metro station I asked him about a conversation that he had with a member after church today that got pretty intense, at least from the last 10 minutes that I heard. Fratele Matei had no problem being bold in telling Adrian that he was always welcome with us at church, but that he would not be showing his belief in God if he didn't get baptized. Adrian already knew this, of course, but it is sometimes different to hear it pounded into your head by a bold Romanian (when a Romanian is bold, they know no bounds). So I asked him what got that conversation started, and he said that he had asked a question about being a member and why it was so important, as long as he is coming, and then he said, "but I don't need to tell you about the rest. You'll just say that he's right and I know that he's right, and it's not like I won't be baptized. ...Actually, I already know when, I just haven't told you." WHAT?! Yeah, he kind of ran away from me and I was in shock. He said, "Don't get mad, don't get mad, but I just want it to be a surprise." Oh, I wasn't mad at all, I was thrilled, but at the same time, very confused, because it's not very often that when someone wants to get baptized that they keep it from the missionaries who are trying to help them get there.

But he had it all planned to talk to Sora Lundberg about the plans for it (she's our mission president's wife) and he was planning on just telling us the day before, like, "Hey guys, what are you doing tomorrow, cuz you should really come to by baptism" or something like that. So I told him that if he didn't want us to know, our mission president at least had to know, so he said that he would call President Lundberg and talk to him about it.

He called me later to let me know that he talked to President Lundberg, and he said in a slow nervous-ish voice, "So, are you sitting down? Because I talked to the President Lundberg, and he said that everything is NEXT WEEK!" And I sat in shock for all of 3 miliseconds before I snapped out of it and said, "Wait, next Sunday, like a week from today?" Yup. Oh my goodness. We are all so excited and happy for him and his excited and happy for him, which of course, is the best part.

There is just something that gives you so much joy when you have the assurance of the Spirit of God that you are doing what is right. And as we have talked about a lot before, when you keep the commandments of God, you are happy, and you get closer to God, which makes you happier, and it makes you want to do more for Him, and then He does more for you, and it's just a huge happiness cycle. That does not eliminate the parts of life that are hard, but it surely does give you the power and hope to get through those parts with the faith that you have in a loving and caring Father who is aware of you and your struggles, and who is anxious to help you get through everything so that you can be even closer to Him. And I find that there are times when I feel like I am as close as I can ever get to Him...but then He answers another prayer, and performs another miracle, and my love and gratitude for Him grows and somehow the eternities are smaller and I am that much closer to my God, my Father in Heaven. It feels wonderful.

So I will be able to tell you about that service next Monday, which will be fun and exciting! We will see if Andrian's mom and brother will come to see and support him. I hope so.

So, after those amazing stories, I have my funny Romanian statement for the day: they have a million different ways to say that someone is crazy, but I think I found my favorite one this week: Are pitci pe crier (ahray peeteech pay creeair) which literally means, "he/she has midgets on their head". Hahahahahahaha. I laughed hard at that one, and I hope that it at least gave you all a smile.

I am so glad that everything went well with Tamara's recital and with the Power's wedding and everything else that had to get done. Mom, you are so amazing for being able to do all of those things!

But I hope that all is going well. Shaley, have fun with graduation this week! And make sure you tackle Cherisse when she gets there this week! And give her big hugs from me! And give Grandma Curtis hugs from me, too!

But have so much fun, all of you, and I will talk to you next week!

Love you to pieces! Sora Karina

Quite the Week

Hey! How are you?

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there - Like Brianne! CONGRATS!!! And I got to say this to my mom, not face to face, but close enough for now. That was so nice to talk to my family. It is always something to have an overflowing amount of joy when you know that those you love so much are doing well.

So, like the title says, this week was quite the week. It was just super busy and very good. I'll start on Wednesday. It was our "63 day" which was the day that I had 63 days left in this country and that Sora Hupp had been in the country for 63 days. (And no, I'm not counting - really and I promise, it was just a random fact that came up, we celebrated and now it's over). But we had fun celebrating it by going out to lunch with Sora Petrisor who is one of our teachers from the MTC who is from Bucuresti and she's here for a few weeks visiting. It is so fun seeing her and talking with her - and actually understanding her! That's probably the biggest thing, because I remember when I was in the MTC and she would speak in Romanian and I would understand maybe a few words - and now I understand her perfectly, and I can respond! I guess I have been doing pretty well in my language progression. But it's fun having her here.

Friday was our Zone Conference, and Elder Camargo from the 70 and his wife were here visiting and it was really fun listening and being taught by them. We talked a lot about how we can help the members here in Romania get more involved in the missionary work - because if we are going to accomplish the work that the Lord has given us to fulfill, we need the help of the members, we can not do it alone. And that's how it is across the whole world - missionaries need help everywhere, and so does the Lord. I know that we are each capable of helping the Lord in this work simply because we are His children and He has called us to stand as a witness of Him. We do this best just by living what we believe and giving our whole heart and soul to it. If what we believe truly matters that much, then we will do all that we can to put our life and the way that we live to be in accord with those beliefs and teachings.

This is how God tells us that we will find the most joy - by believing in Christ and following Him. Another way that we can increase the work is by not being scared to tell others of what we know. We can just state simply what we believe and how we know it - through the Spirit of God, and that same Spirit, the Holy Ghost will bear record to us and those around us that what we say is true. It is a wonderful feeling.

So this weekend we also had District Conference which meant that people from both sides of Bucuresti, Ploiesti, Craiova, Pitesti, and Brasov all came down to Bucuresti to meet together for meetings on Saturday and Sunday. It was sooooo much fun seeing the people from Brasov that I worked with that came - I hadn't seen them since September, so it was quite a blessing to see them all again.

Choir went well - it sounded pretty good considering all the different choirs met just that morning to put it all together - and I was told about 10 minutes before the meeting started that the vocal soloist didn't show up and they didn't have anyone, and would I please do it? Ok. I think it sounded ok, but what mattered was that the Spirit was felt strongly among all those present, and for that I am grateful.

Elder and Sister Camargo spoke to the members at Conference also, and they said lots of great things to help strengthen them in their family living, in their spiritual preparation, and in their testimony. And why do we focus on these things so much? It is because as we strengthen these three things: our family, our spiritual preparation and our testimony, then we are surely on the path that leads back to our Heavenly Father and to eternal joy. I know it because I have seen the difference that it makes in my life and in the lives of those around me, and the difference is worth the effort.

Adrian sang in the choir like he had been practicing and loved it. When Sora Lundberg asked him if church/conference was good he said "yeah, like always!" It was fun.

Also something that is really neat is how Heavenly Father answers your prayers. When you are praying for something, or to know/understand something better and it just seems so out of reach, all of a sudden you find yourself in a setting where a person says something so small and yet that is the "big" answer that you've been looking for. And miracles like that happen every day when we have faith in the One with whom nothing is impossible.

Another one of our investigators is a little girl named Alexandra who is 8 and is the daughter of Cornell who was baptized recently. She is so cute and so fun, but it's so sad because her family life is not stable between her mom and her dad, and she just wants to be a kid but can't. All she needs is to know that she is loved, but she doesn't. She doesn't even believe that God loves her. We are trying to help her realize this just simply by loving her as much as we can (which isn't hard, believe me) and we pray for her always that she will be able to feel the love of God. She loves church and being in that setting, but I don't know if she recognizes why that setting is so precious. She was sitting next to me at the baptism that we had yesterday after the District Conference (it was someone on the other side of Bucuresti, yay!) And she is always a little shy at first to be close to you. But then when she warms up, she really warms up and you just want your love to radiate more and more for her. And I couldn't help thinking how amazingly blessed I am that I have a mother who loves me and who taught me that God loves me, and a father who loves me and taught me how to love God in return.

They taught me this together, and I wish with all of my heart that every child could have this. But that is why we have the Atonement of Christ - because every one is short of some happiness, and everyone is short of perfection. But in and through the infinite atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can receive the love and joy of God, even when we're lacking in what we have on this earth, and we can become perfect even when we are lacking in our abilities in this body. Everything that is not fair or is not good was suffered for, so that one day - in a perfect day - it will all be made perfect, ourselves included. And that gives me hope to continue giving and loving and teaching and trying even when it seems hopeless. There is ALWAYS hope in our Savior. And for this I am eternally grateful.

I'm trying to think of something fun to tell you about Romania - oh! There is such a fun song that's kinda like our "10 little monkeys jumping on the bed" song but it's with elephants and a spider web. Ok, really how it is, how to say it, and then what is means:
un elefant, se legenau, pe o panza de paiangen. Si fiind ca ea, nu se rupea, a mai chemat un elefant.
Doi! doi elefanti, se legenau, pe o panza de paiangen. Si fiind ca ea, ne se rupea, au mai chemat un elefant.
Trei! trei elefanti.....si asa mai departe.
(oon ehlehfant, say layghenow, pay oh puhnzah day puhyanjen. she feend cuh yah, noo say roopyah, ah mahee kaymaht oon ehlehfant.
doee! doee ehlehfants, say layghenow, pay oh puhnzah day puhyanjen. she feend cuh yah, noo say roopyah, ah mahee kaymaht oon ehlehfant.
tray! tray ehlehfants...she ashah mahee daypartay.)

One elephant, was rocking, on a web from a spider. And since it, was not breaking, it called yet another elephant.
Two! Two elephants, were rocking, on a web from a spider. And since it, was not breaking, they called yet another elephant.
Three! Three elephants...and so on.
So you just keep adding more elephants by saying patru(pahtroo 4) cinci (cheench 5) sase (shahsay 6) sapte (shahptay 7) opt (ohpt 8) noua (no-oohah 9) and zece (zehchay 10) until you're done singing it basically. It is a cute little song that they use to teach little kids how to count. but it's fun to sing.

Anyways, I need to go, but I want you all to know how much I love you - A LOT! Even if the capital letters can't really describe it enough. I hope that you are all having so much fun, and that all is going well. And even if it's not going as well as you might hope, I pray that you are able to smile and be happy anyways, and it is possible. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about happiness and how we can find it through hope and faith no matter what happens. Once again I love you all lots and lots and lots and lots, and I'll be talking to you again next week. Bye!

Love always, --Sora Karina

Happy Day!

Hey, everyone who is having a happy day out ther, (and all of you who aren't, you should fix that). Everyone should have a happy day, and I hope that you all are. But anyway, how are you? I'm doing great.

It's really windy here in Bucuresti, but that's ok because without the wind it would be really, really hot. And it will get even hotter, but that's all right. This week was a good one - full of wonderful stories, so here you go...

The knuckles/cigarette deal with Adrian is still going great. This week we are both having success in rejecting the "unrighteous" desires, so to speak. And the Lord is working miracles.

This week on Tuesday, Adrian called us to tell us that he was so so so sorry, but he had to work on Sunday, and he would try to get done as fast as he could, but he didn't think he would be able to be to church...maybe to choir practice after church. But he thought church would be out of the question. He called us the next day wanting to know if we thought he should go to church regardless of what his boss said. I told him not to put he job in jeopardy because that's not a good position to be in, but he also wants to keep the Sabbath day holy. I told him he would just have to use his best judgment. "No, help me!" he said. So I asked him what he thought. "Well, I think that I should tell my boss that I'm not ok with working on Sunday because I need to go to church, which I already told him. So, I think that if I respect what God wants, which is to go to church, then He'll help me, and I won't have to work on Sunday." That's exactly right.

This was his plan until Saturday when his boss told him that he HAD to work on Sunday, and in fact he needed to go to Ploiesti, which is a city about an hour outside of Bucuresti, to seal a contract deal or something. He was really sad and said he would still do as much as he could to get back as soon as possible, but the prospects weren't very good. He said that he would fast with us since it's the first Sunday of the month, and he needed help from God to stop smoking.

Sunday morning he texted us telling us that he was on his way to Ploiesti and that he had worked it out with the people in the workshop that he wouldn't have to do as much, which would give him maybe an extra hour. "So pray for me to get back fast." he said. Of course we did this, and about 30 minutes later he called us and asked, "Did you already pray for me?" "Yes", I replied. "Really?" "Yeah, of course, why" "Because I'm already on my way back to Bucuresti! The guy I was supposed to meet in Ploiesti called me to cancel and said that we don't need to have our meeting anymore, and I'm only about 30 minutes ouside of Bucuresti, so I should be there just in time for church to start!" Wow. He thanked me for praying for him, and I told him not to thank me. I had faith that God would do it, and He did. "So thank Heavenly Father, and I'm going to do that right now, too." And he said, "Yeah, I will do that now, too."

Sora Hupp and I were so excited and we prayed with thanks a million times yesterday for all the amazing things that happened.

Adrian got to church right before it started, the Spirit was SO strong, and all of the testimonies that were given were given from the heart, how they should be, and they were all amazing and touching. Classes went well. All three of our recent converts came to church, along with a less active lady that we are working with. The lored is so aware of this work and aware of our desires. It shows so nicely how when we have the desire to do what God asks of us, and when we do all that we can do, even if things get in the way (and Satan does try so hard to put things in the way) God helps us to succeed and accomplish those things that He asks. He has prepared the way, and we will go forward in strenth and joy.

Adrian loved church and stayed for choir practice. Even though he says he's not too confident with his singing, he is excited to sing with us for District Conference next week. (District Conference is the same as Stake Conference, except we don't have any stakes yet. But it will be fun.) And I absolutely love the truth that when you do the Lord's wil with your all, that is when you are truly happy. I see this in my life. When I try to do what the Lord wants - not because He wants it, but because I want to do it, - I am happier than if I would have done something else. Ok, maybe that sentence doesn't make too much sense, but hopefully you understand.

Sora Hupp is still experimenting away with her food - along to pate and rice (sounds yummy, doesn't it? -shaking head cuz I didn't want to try it - lol.) But she's even got me experimenting now. This week we created a meal that was actually quite delicious. Pour out a can of baked beans into the pan on the stove and add a can of hal-drained cut pineappple. Turn the heat on and add pieces of ham, already cooked rice, and just keep mixing it until it is warm. Then add a decent amount of whipped cream (yes, like you would find in a can and put on a pie- put it in there) until it is well mixed. Then you dish it up on the plate and place a healthy amount of grated cheese on top. It is quite delicious, and fills you up really nicely -it kept me going for most of my fast. If you have the daring boldness to try, let me know if you like it. We also thought that if we had them, it would have been good to add green onions or chunks of green bell pepper. Alas, that will have to be tried another day because we didn't have any. But it was fun and yummy - the best combination.

This week on Saturday was institute, or a youth activity program and it was fun. We didn't go to the lesson part, but we showed up in time for the activity (good timing) which was volley ball. We were havingfun doing awful at the game, but that's usually how it goes, and it's still really fun that way. Even though I think of what Shaley would think when I try to set the ball (and I can picture her shaking her head because I have no idea what I'm doing). But that's ok.

Anyways, there is this girl in our branch named Gabi, and she has a physical handicap and has to walk with braces (or chruches or whatever they're called) to balance herslf to walk and such. She is such a sweetheart, but she usually sits to the sid and watches whatever anyone is doing. But not this time... Despite the objections that she couldn't do it, Elder Dummar grabbed a chair and put it in the center of our team's playing sid, and carried her over to the chair. She kept telling him, "no, I can't, I don't know how, I can't do this", but he was determined to show her that she could. We showed her how to hold her hands, and then we would toss the ball to her to start the play. She would hit it and it would bounce behind her. If I was on my guard enough, I was able to play off of her hit. Using the all mighty and powerful team effort, we got it over the net. She was thrilled! And in fact, we were all thrilled and we all had a blast. That, plus the fact that it was a nice summer evening and I got to play with my bare feet in the grass made it pretty much a perfect evening. I loved it.

Oh! I don't remember if I have ever praised the parks here in Romani from any of my other cities (and if I haven';t, then shame on me because I love them.) The parks in Bucuresti are AMAZING!! Cismigiu (said cheeshmeejew) is a nice intimate and beautiful park with a small area with swans swimming and peacocks walking and children playing and all of the good stuff that happens in parks. It's actually known as The Romantic Park of Buc. I thought that was great, but then I went to Herestrau Park (said how it's spelled) and Wow! It is so amazing and its HUGE just like I said that pretty much everything in Buc is hughe, this park is like that. And I will never be able to describe it to you sufficiently, so I don't think I will try. Just know that it's amazing and it is really fun to go there to find people to talk to about the gospel. Good wholesome gospel discussions and a great view. What more could I ask for?

Well, I guess I could ask for a perfect temperature, for all of the mospuitoes to go away and a few other things, but I'm trying not to be too demanding.

The funny Romanianism for today is to explain the use and meaning of what we would say is "Prince Charming." The translation for this in Romanian is "Fat Frumos" (there is supposed to be a symbol above the 'a' in Fat, so it doesn't read fat like big, but read it rather as "fuht froomose" or something.) Frumos means "beautiful" and the context meaning of Fat is "youth" so it means "beautiful youth" until you take the literal translation where Fat means "fetus" in which case you are then adoring the beautiful unborn and still developing child as a soon-to-be-hero and usually "knight in shining armor".

It's funny. The thing that is amazing, though, is that the statement is not a false one whether it is in the leteral or context meanin, for we are all children of a Heavenly King, and as the scripture says, every soul is great in the eyes of God. We each have a potential that He is helping us to fulfill as we concentrate our efforts to be on the path of truth and righteousness. It is quite amazing that He loves all of us and each of us has that divine potential to be perfect and pure, even as He is - and this is possible for us through our Savior Jesus Christ. God's plan is so perfect and it brings me so much joy to know it, to live in accordance to it, and especially to share it with those who maybe don't have this hope, this knowledge, or this joy. Everyone deserves a bit of happiness, and that is the point -for us to be eternally happy with our Gad and all those whom we love. yay.

And now for the really important part - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHERISSE!!!! I'm sorry I didn't tell you last week when it was closer to your birthday, but I didn't forget. On your birthday I san "La Multi Ani" as I danced around my apartment, and we even ate cookies -they were leftover from something else, but still. It was a nice, modest celebration. I hope yours was better planned and just better in every way, and I can't believe thay you're 21! I bet you can't believe that either. But that's ok, I love you lots and lots and lots, and if Alley didn't make it a good day for you, just let me know and I shall lecture him later on it ;) Alley, I love you too, don't worry.

But I think I have exhausted my time and my stories, and probably your time and your eyes from reading all o fthis, but I want you all to know that I love you so, so very muchy. I hope that all is going well, and as I stated at the beginning, that you're all having a happy day. I know that I am. Keep doing great and take care--

I'll "talk" to you again next week. Love you! Always, --Sora Karina