Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I'm doing great. This week was a good one with lots of things to do and lots of people to talk to like always.
Our investigators are doing pretty good. Christina is one of our investigators that we want to have a baptismal date for, but Satan keeps getting in the way and we haven't been able to meet with her for 2 weeks! Grrr....but while she was gone and away we talked on the phone a lot and she read the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon - wow - her favorite part was Abinidi's story and how God protected him until he finished his message. She said "It just shows that God helps us to do what we need to whenever we're doing what's right." Exactly. We finally extended the invitation for her to commit to baptism, and she wants to but needs to talk to her mom first (she's old enough but obviously doesn't want to do it behind her parent's back) so she said that she would pray about the date, ask Heavenly Father for help to talk to her mom, and we are planning on talking to her today or tomorrow depending on her schedule and setting up the baptismal calendar. We are excited.
As for everything else, the work is going well, I am having fun every day, and we are going out and talking to people with the expectation of success. Even though sometimes it is hard to go out every day thinking, "I will succeed," we are working on having that daily attitude and mindset, and we are gradually doing better with that. It's good.
We got a new investigator this week names Viorica. She is 60 and has had a hard life but is so cute. We had a good discussion with her, and her and her son came to church yesterday. :D When we were talking to her she kept talking about how she prays to God, she goes to church, but she just doesn't know if it is enough or not. She wants to know if it is enough and do everything that she needs to, in order to please God. So we told her that our message would help her to see what God requires of us, and that we can help her do "enough" and even more, and that when she does that, she will be truly happy. I know that that is true. When we try our best to do what God has asked us, He will help us along the way and at the end we will find true joy and all will be well. Obviously this is a process, but Christ has promised us happiness in this life and joy in the next as we rely on Him and engage our selves in this work. And He will be with us every step of the way.
I definitely saw this promise come to pass yesterday when after sacrament meeting I was going to the sunday school class with the youth and Sora Van Noy (senior missionary) told me that there wasn't a teacher for the adult sunday school class and that I was now the teacher. It was supposed to be starting right then, and I didn't even know what the lesson was supposed to be on! This year they are learning about the New Testament, but I didn't have a manual nor can I understand the Bible in Romanian because the language is different (it's an older language just like ours in English, but it's very different in Romanian). So I went up to the front of the class and got it started with a prayer. As Brother Manzatanu was coming up to the front to pray I sat next to Audi (a less active member who is now on her way to being very active and one of my good friends here in Brasov) and she said "You're teaching?" And I told her how I had just found out 2 seconds ago and to please pray for me really hard. I know that she did.
Anyways, I got up and looked behind one of the curtains and found a Gospel Principles manual luckily, opened it up and it was talking a little about Christ's life and so I started the lesson "today we are going to be talking about having faith in Christ and why it is so important in our lives to focus our faith in Him." And I went. I know that God was helping sustain me and the Spirit was speaking the words that I didn't know how to say. It was amazing. My language skills are coming along fine, but that's with daily language study and preparation in every personal and companionship study time...I hadn't had time to prepare for this lesson, but the Spirit carried me and I was able to find the words that I wouldn't have known otherwise and it was a great blessing from the Lord.
I don't really remember a whole lot of the lesson, but a lot of people told me they really enjoyed it, and afterwords Audi told me that she was proud of me. I asked her if I even said half of that stuff correctly, and she smiled and said "no, but we understood, and the Spirit was there." What a great tender mercy of the Lord. It was really exhausting, too, and I didn't have as much energy as I would have liked when my companion and I taught the young women about how the value of divine nature helps us to prepare to go to the temple. It was a fun lesson to teach, and I think that they learned a lot, and again, the Spirit helped us and led us to what to say and how to help these young women grow in their testimonies of the gospel.
I can't really think of anything else amazingly interesting to tell you about the work, except that it is progressing. In the month of July our mission had 12 baptisms! And it was awesome. Each month is getting better and better.
So congrats to Shaley for making the varsity team w00t! And Jenna, congrats for trying and making the best out of it by going for something new. w00t w00t! Really though, I'm proud of both of you and I know that you will both have a blast doing it. I'm excited to hear about your cross country adventures Jenna, and I know that you'll do great! Tamara, I'm happy that you are still having fun with Volley ball, and I know that you are probably once again the life of the team! It's just crazy that it's already volley ball season again - time flies way too fast it seems. But it's all right as long as we enjoy the time that we're given. And please tell the Gatrells congrats for me! That's so exciting that Flint is engaged! To Cherisse and Alley - Welcome to your new home! Even though it will take forever for you to get this welcome statement and you will have been there for a month, your house is not yet broken in until I have welcomed you into it. lol. But really, I hope that all is going well, I miss you and I love you!!! I love all of you so so so much, and I hope that all is going well wherever you are. Please give Sister Koster a big hug specially from me when she gets back, and you can give that big hug from me to anyone who would like it - it's available ;} I love you all and I will talk to you more next week!
Always, --Sora Karina
PS pentru Sora Thompson, sau se poate pot sa incep sa zic Debbie, dar mai este ciudat putin. Oricum, ma bucur foarte mult ca te ai distrat cu Eric la Lake Powell...ai naroc pentru ca mi-e dor de acolo. Dar e ok. Ma rog pentru tine si apartamentul tau, si totul va fi bine sa stii, si sper ca primul septaman de scoala va merge bine fara probleme si ca vei fi fericita acolo. Te iubesc mult, si ai o zi buna! Cu drag, Sora Karinaps pentru Sora Poulson, chiar pot sa zic Alison, dar exact cum este cu Sora Thompson, mai este foarte ciudat! Dar ma bucur ca esti bine si faci bine si ca ai avut un timp bun cu Elder Castro - nu stui prenumele lui, dar nu contiaza prea mult. Ma rog, este bine sa te aud, si multumesc pentru sfatul tau...Colega mea nu are prea mult energie, si este greau din cand in cand pentru mine sa nu fac toate - ea nu ii place cand incerc sa fac toate cu energie deci mai incerc sa fiu linistita chiar atunci cand ea este prea linistita. Dar totul este bine si mai imi place aceasta lucrare foarte mult si mai lucrez in continuare. Dar sper ca ai o septamana plecuta, si mai vorbim! Te iubesc mult, cu drag --Sora Karina
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Talents galore
Hello family and everyone! How are you all doing? I am doing pretty good.
I don't really have too much to write about today...we finally finished moving and it was super annoying because the move and all the other necessary things that we had to do for it got in the way of doing productive missionary work, but it's ok I guess. We finished, we are now settled in our new place and it's nice cuz it is super close to the church, some of the members that we work with a lot, and lots of other important places (like a huge piata and centru). So that was good.
Another fun thing was the talent night that we had. About a month or so ago there was a huge talent production that was put on by some members in Bucuresti and it was apparently amazing. Well, they asked if they could come and do it up here in Brasov, so we planned for it to happen on this past Saturday. And Friday night they called and they canceled! Not cool. But we had invited a bunch of people and we didn't know what to do, but we did not want to just cancel and say "sorry, come back another time" so my District Leader Elder Herrick decided that we should still try to have an activity and he put myself and my companion in charge. Thanks...
It was on the day that we had to finish closing our other apartment, and lots of other stuff was going on, too, and it was crazy. So we got to the phones and came up with a talent show ourselves using all the missionaries and some of the branch members. It was hilarious. It actually turned out not too bad though. Not as good as the professional show everyone was expecting, but it was better than nothing, and the Lord definitely helped us out with it not falling through.
It's kinda funny how as missionaries you need to be ready to pick up anything that might fall through. Like Sunday how the teacher for Young Womens decided to not do it anymore and didn't call anyone, and so my companion and I gave an unplanned lesson on divine nature based off the story of Moses and how he saw God who taught him who he was, that he had a work to do, and then after God left, Satan came and said "son of man, worship me" and because Moses knew his divine nature and that he was a son of God in His image, he said "who are you that I should worship you, for I am a son of God." It was a good lesson and the Spirit really helped us a lot, and I think that it was a really good lesson for the girls that were there. Two less-active young women were there, Raluca (15) and Simona (16) so it was really neat.
Other than that, I can't believe that we are already in the middle of August, it is really hot and humid here right now, the leaves are starting to fall (crazy!!!) and the work is going forth. This past week there were 5 baptisms that happened and 2 others planned for Sunday (I haven't heard yet if they went through) throughout the mission. THAT'S SO COOL! I love this gospel so much and I know that it is truly the only way to find happiness that will last us through this life, carry us through any difficulties, and bring everlasting joy in the eternities.
Hey Mom, can you please email me the address for Cherisse and Alley, the Gatrells, and Monty Nuss Photography Studio? Thanks, that would be great. And as for my birthday and things that I need, not really anything. Stuff that I want - american food! stuff like Kool-Aid packets, fruit snacks, marshmallows, gramm crackers, smarties, starbursts, skittles, lemonaid packets, just don't exist here in Romania. You don't need to buy me all of that stuff--I don't know what I would do with ALL of it, but it's just a general idea. As for clothes and supplies, I think I'm still good with all of it. A tape to hear you guys and what life is like would be fun and maybe Tamara playing the violin, ( and just to be thinking ahead, I love my conference tapes, and it would be awesome to have those again!) and Oh, I thought of something. Pens. Romanian pens are awful here, and you know how much I love to write! some more blank cards or sticky notes would be fun too. And of course wedding pictures. (my English class is patiently anticipating all of the pictures too lol). Anyways, I think that's good. Just whatever you want to stuff in a package sounds good to me. Yup.
Oh, and those pictures you sent me are soooo cute! Everyone looked gorgeous at her wedding, and I can not believe how big Tamara is getting!!! Wow. Yup. But I am doing really good, and I love you all so so very much! Talk to you next week!Always, --Sora Karina Ps. Sora
Thompson....LA MULTI ANI! ~in the tune you know so very well~ La multi ani cu sanatate sa iti dea Domnul tot ce doresti; zile senine si fericire la multi an sa traiesti! Multi ani traiasca, multi ani traiasca, La Multi Ani. Cine sa traiasca, cine sa traiasca, La Multi Ani. Jebs sa traiasca, Jebs sa traiasca, LA MULTI ANI!!! He he. Stiu ca este un pic tarziu, dar am crezut ca astazi este mai aproape decat celalta Luni. Dar sper ca a fost o zi minunata si ca ai avut un blast! Felicitar, Dumnezeu sa fie cu tine, si spune-ma toate poveste despre cum a mers si cum merge viata ta acuma. Succes cu tot, mai ales prietenul tau si scoala (cred ca esti aproape la inceputul) si ai o zi frumoasa. Te iubesc ca deobicei. Cu mult drag, Sora Karina
I don't really have too much to write about today...we finally finished moving and it was super annoying because the move and all the other necessary things that we had to do for it got in the way of doing productive missionary work, but it's ok I guess. We finished, we are now settled in our new place and it's nice cuz it is super close to the church, some of the members that we work with a lot, and lots of other important places (like a huge piata and centru). So that was good.
Another fun thing was the talent night that we had. About a month or so ago there was a huge talent production that was put on by some members in Bucuresti and it was apparently amazing. Well, they asked if they could come and do it up here in Brasov, so we planned for it to happen on this past Saturday. And Friday night they called and they canceled! Not cool. But we had invited a bunch of people and we didn't know what to do, but we did not want to just cancel and say "sorry, come back another time" so my District Leader Elder Herrick decided that we should still try to have an activity and he put myself and my companion in charge. Thanks...
It was on the day that we had to finish closing our other apartment, and lots of other stuff was going on, too, and it was crazy. So we got to the phones and came up with a talent show ourselves using all the missionaries and some of the branch members. It was hilarious. It actually turned out not too bad though. Not as good as the professional show everyone was expecting, but it was better than nothing, and the Lord definitely helped us out with it not falling through.
It's kinda funny how as missionaries you need to be ready to pick up anything that might fall through. Like Sunday how the teacher for Young Womens decided to not do it anymore and didn't call anyone, and so my companion and I gave an unplanned lesson on divine nature based off the story of Moses and how he saw God who taught him who he was, that he had a work to do, and then after God left, Satan came and said "son of man, worship me" and because Moses knew his divine nature and that he was a son of God in His image, he said "who are you that I should worship you, for I am a son of God." It was a good lesson and the Spirit really helped us a lot, and I think that it was a really good lesson for the girls that were there. Two less-active young women were there, Raluca (15) and Simona (16) so it was really neat.
Other than that, I can't believe that we are already in the middle of August, it is really hot and humid here right now, the leaves are starting to fall (crazy!!!) and the work is going forth. This past week there were 5 baptisms that happened and 2 others planned for Sunday (I haven't heard yet if they went through) throughout the mission. THAT'S SO COOL! I love this gospel so much and I know that it is truly the only way to find happiness that will last us through this life, carry us through any difficulties, and bring everlasting joy in the eternities.
Hey Mom, can you please email me the address for Cherisse and Alley, the Gatrells, and Monty Nuss Photography Studio? Thanks, that would be great. And as for my birthday and things that I need, not really anything. Stuff that I want - american food! stuff like Kool-Aid packets, fruit snacks, marshmallows, gramm crackers, smarties, starbursts, skittles, lemonaid packets, just don't exist here in Romania. You don't need to buy me all of that stuff--I don't know what I would do with ALL of it, but it's just a general idea. As for clothes and supplies, I think I'm still good with all of it. A tape to hear you guys and what life is like would be fun and maybe Tamara playing the violin, ( and just to be thinking ahead, I love my conference tapes, and it would be awesome to have those again!) and Oh, I thought of something. Pens. Romanian pens are awful here, and you know how much I love to write! some more blank cards or sticky notes would be fun too. And of course wedding pictures. (my English class is patiently anticipating all of the pictures too lol). Anyways, I think that's good. Just whatever you want to stuff in a package sounds good to me. Yup.
Oh, and those pictures you sent me are soooo cute! Everyone looked gorgeous at her wedding, and I can not believe how big Tamara is getting!!! Wow. Yup. But I am doing really good, and I love you all so so very much! Talk to you next week!Always, --Sora Karina Ps. Sora
Thompson....LA MULTI ANI! ~in the tune you know so very well~ La multi ani cu sanatate sa iti dea Domnul tot ce doresti; zile senine si fericire la multi an sa traiesti! Multi ani traiasca, multi ani traiasca, La Multi Ani. Cine sa traiasca, cine sa traiasca, La Multi Ani. Jebs sa traiasca, Jebs sa traiasca, LA MULTI ANI!!! He he. Stiu ca este un pic tarziu, dar am crezut ca astazi este mai aproape decat celalta Luni. Dar sper ca a fost o zi minunata si ca ai avut un blast! Felicitar, Dumnezeu sa fie cu tine, si spune-ma toate poveste despre cum a mers si cum merge viata ta acuma. Succes cu tot, mai ales prietenul tau si scoala (cred ca esti aproape la inceputul) si ai o zi frumoasa. Te iubesc ca deobicei. Cu mult drag, Sora Karina
Monday, August 10, 2009
4th transfer period
Holy Cow I can't believe that I'm already in my 4th transfer! Crazy stuff how time just goes whether you're ready or not. But it's going well.
This week went really well, but Satan has really been working against some of our investigators. They are progressing and we have been wanting to give them a baptismal date for about 1 1/2-2 weeks but it keeps not working out and it's kind of really annoying. But they are still progressing and I have faith that soon our perserverance will be greater than Satan's abilities and it will happen.
Carmen is coming to church and loving it, and is starting to participate and become a part of the branch which is so neat to see. Cristina has been a part of the branch, and now she is starting to realize the answers to her prayers that she is receiving and she's getting excited about that and loves reading and studying the Book of Mormon which is so cool. Alina is truly studying the scriptures and understanding them and getting a lot out of them. She's reading through the Book of Mormon for the 2nd time and is currently in Alma, and it's fun to see how excited about the things that she is learning. She's even color coordinating the things she is learning which is super fun. (I don't know if I ever studied the scriptures like that when I was her age.)
Anyways, we have other investigators that are on their way to becoming progressing, and we pray for them every day. So the work, like always, is still going forward and I love it!
Church was amazing yesterday - we had 45 people there! It was so awesome. Audi, a girl that has been a member for 10 years and mostly inactive for 4 or 5 years, has started coming back to church, and it's great. Adrian, the Nuti (pronounced Nootsey) family came, the Manzatanu family came (pronounced Munzuhtsahnoo), Sora Herghelegiu came, and then we had 3 of our investigators and 2 other investigators that came. It was so exciting, and the spirit was so strong. I loved it.
We taught Relief Society from the conference talk "Sacred homes, Sacred Temples" and how important it is to prepare for the temple, and how one of the best ways we can do that is by preparing our homes to be like the temple so the Spirit can live there with us and our families. It turned out to be a really good lesson. (There were 13 women in Relief society...a new record for our branch!) Yup, exciting things are happening.
So we are moving in to our new appartment on Wednesday which is slightly annoying because it takes us away from the more important work, but such is the situation that it needs to work like that. And I guess it is important for us to have a place to live and such for us to work our best...lol. But it will be over soon and it will be ok.
And I love my new companion. Sora Campbell is awesome and she is from Ohio. She was actually one of my nashers (one of the missionaries that I stayed with on my very first night in the country before I had my companion that kinda showed me around and helped me feel welcome and confident in the country.) So that's cool, and she just finished serving with Sora Larsen, one of my MTC companions and that's kinda fun, too. She and I talk so easily and whenever we're not working, we're just telling stories and laughing and enjoying our time together which time flies by. So it's good, and I'm excited for our goals that we made for this transfer and to continue to see the Lord's hand in all of our efforts. That's always the neatest part is doing all that you can and then seeing how Heavenly Father just takes it and makes it the way He needs for His purposes. And when you don't feel like it's going the way it needs to, or when you're having a hard time getting it there, the Atonement and Jesus Christ are on the other side right next to you waiting to help us overcome those hardships. And always they are both there smiling and rejoicing in our successes together.
I was studying the other day in 2 Nephi 26:30 about charity, and the question I have is who is the laborer in Zion? Mom, maybe you can find a sweet talk about that or something, but I would like to learn more about that if you have time to study it. Thanks!
Also, Mosiah 5:15 says that we are to "stand firm" in the work of the Lord and that as we do that, the Lord will "seal you his." This scripture to me is such a happy scripture. When we have a desire to stand firm for what we believe and when we put all our efforts into it, then we will be with the Lord and He will be with us, and Satan will have no power over us because of the strength of our relationship with the Father and the Son. You can keep going with that thought, but I liked it.
I am so happy to hear that the wedding went well and that all the little miracles fell into place. God is amazing like that. I can't wait to see the pictures!
Oh, and they are guessing that my zone conference will be on Sept. 1, but it might change, but for now that's the plan. I really don't know if I have anything else to say right now...I will probably get pictures of me and Sora Campbell to you soon, we just need to take some together first lol!
But yeah, all is well, I love being here and doing the work of the Lord. Keep searching for opportunities to forward the work wherever you are...the Lord has need of all of us. And continue to reflect on the greatness of His love for you - it is something that brings me joy every day.
I love you all so so very much, and I pray that all will continue to go well. Talk to you more next week! Always, --Sora Karina
This week went really well, but Satan has really been working against some of our investigators. They are progressing and we have been wanting to give them a baptismal date for about 1 1/2-2 weeks but it keeps not working out and it's kind of really annoying. But they are still progressing and I have faith that soon our perserverance will be greater than Satan's abilities and it will happen.
Carmen is coming to church and loving it, and is starting to participate and become a part of the branch which is so neat to see. Cristina has been a part of the branch, and now she is starting to realize the answers to her prayers that she is receiving and she's getting excited about that and loves reading and studying the Book of Mormon which is so cool. Alina is truly studying the scriptures and understanding them and getting a lot out of them. She's reading through the Book of Mormon for the 2nd time and is currently in Alma, and it's fun to see how excited about the things that she is learning. She's even color coordinating the things she is learning which is super fun. (I don't know if I ever studied the scriptures like that when I was her age.)
Anyways, we have other investigators that are on their way to becoming progressing, and we pray for them every day. So the work, like always, is still going forward and I love it!
Church was amazing yesterday - we had 45 people there! It was so awesome. Audi, a girl that has been a member for 10 years and mostly inactive for 4 or 5 years, has started coming back to church, and it's great. Adrian, the Nuti (pronounced Nootsey) family came, the Manzatanu family came (pronounced Munzuhtsahnoo), Sora Herghelegiu came, and then we had 3 of our investigators and 2 other investigators that came. It was so exciting, and the spirit was so strong. I loved it.
We taught Relief Society from the conference talk "Sacred homes, Sacred Temples" and how important it is to prepare for the temple, and how one of the best ways we can do that is by preparing our homes to be like the temple so the Spirit can live there with us and our families. It turned out to be a really good lesson. (There were 13 women in Relief society...a new record for our branch!) Yup, exciting things are happening.
So we are moving in to our new appartment on Wednesday which is slightly annoying because it takes us away from the more important work, but such is the situation that it needs to work like that. And I guess it is important for us to have a place to live and such for us to work our best...lol. But it will be over soon and it will be ok.
And I love my new companion. Sora Campbell is awesome and she is from Ohio. She was actually one of my nashers (one of the missionaries that I stayed with on my very first night in the country before I had my companion that kinda showed me around and helped me feel welcome and confident in the country.) So that's cool, and she just finished serving with Sora Larsen, one of my MTC companions and that's kinda fun, too. She and I talk so easily and whenever we're not working, we're just telling stories and laughing and enjoying our time together which time flies by. So it's good, and I'm excited for our goals that we made for this transfer and to continue to see the Lord's hand in all of our efforts. That's always the neatest part is doing all that you can and then seeing how Heavenly Father just takes it and makes it the way He needs for His purposes. And when you don't feel like it's going the way it needs to, or when you're having a hard time getting it there, the Atonement and Jesus Christ are on the other side right next to you waiting to help us overcome those hardships. And always they are both there smiling and rejoicing in our successes together.
I was studying the other day in 2 Nephi 26:30 about charity, and the question I have is who is the laborer in Zion? Mom, maybe you can find a sweet talk about that or something, but I would like to learn more about that if you have time to study it. Thanks!
Also, Mosiah 5:15 says that we are to "stand firm" in the work of the Lord and that as we do that, the Lord will "seal you his." This scripture to me is such a happy scripture. When we have a desire to stand firm for what we believe and when we put all our efforts into it, then we will be with the Lord and He will be with us, and Satan will have no power over us because of the strength of our relationship with the Father and the Son. You can keep going with that thought, but I liked it.
I am so happy to hear that the wedding went well and that all the little miracles fell into place. God is amazing like that. I can't wait to see the pictures!
Oh, and they are guessing that my zone conference will be on Sept. 1, but it might change, but for now that's the plan. I really don't know if I have anything else to say right now...I will probably get pictures of me and Sora Campbell to you soon, we just need to take some together first lol!
But yeah, all is well, I love being here and doing the work of the Lord. Keep searching for opportunities to forward the work wherever you are...the Lord has need of all of us. And continue to reflect on the greatness of His love for you - it is something that brings me joy every day.
I love you all so so very much, and I pray that all will continue to go well. Talk to you more next week! Always, --Sora Karina
Monday, August 3, 2009
WOW
Hello Everyone!
This week has brought a lot of changes. First of all, MY SISTER, CHERISSE, IS MARRIED!!!!! That is so crazy for me to think about. Not only is she no longer in Colorado or living at home, but her name is even different, and I kind of keep having little "holy cow" moments when I realize the differences that are happening. But I'm so excited for her and Alley--you were wondering if I was sad that I couldn't be there, and kind of yeah. It would have been AMAZING to be there in the temple with her and all of you, but at the same time, if I weren't here then I wouldn't have even been able to be in the temple at all, and instead I had a blast telling EVERYONE about her wedding and how she was getting married in the temple and how that was so important and so on. I was planning on singing "la multi ani" with my English class, but then I forgot and I was SO mad, but it's ok. I've promised to show them the pictures of her wedding when I get them (which I won't know for another 2 weeks when zone conference is, just send it and I'll get it) and they are all pretty excited about that. So conclusion: I had fun celebrating her wedding here in my own way with everyone around me whether they wanted to celebrate it or not ;} But it was fun, and i can't wait to hear all the details, and am so happy that it was all perfect.
Cherisse sent me a mini email telling me that she was at the airport on her way to Mexico and that the whole day was perfect! I am so glad. Ok, but enough of wedding talk, as for the mission we had a few changes here too.
Usually we get transfer calls on Saturday and then go to Bucuresti to find out where we're going but we're not doing that anymore. President Lundberg announced that we are never getting transfer calls ever again. Instead we had to wait til today and receive the transfer board by email. (Yes, Sora Thompson, I know it's crazy!) But that's what is happening now, and so we each have our individual travel arrangements which is really weird and I'm still trying to figure out how it all works, but that's ok...it's all gonna work out somehow. So to keep the suspense, or actually to kill it, I am staying here in Brasov and my companion is leaving to go to Arad! She'll be serving with Sora Slaeman who is one of the girls from my MTC group. I'm really excited. I'm kinda nervous because I still have the hardest time with the bus system here which is the only way to get around, and we'll probably get lost quite a few times in the next week or so, but it's ok. Sora Campbell will be getting here Wednesday morning so you'll hear more about her next week.
As for the work, the work is going. This has been the best week for the work this transfer, and I have had so much fun. But the work is continuing and the gospel is amazing. Families are so important in this gospel, in the whole plan that God has for us. And it is amazing the love that we feel from Heavenly Father in every single day.
But I need to run...we just found out we need to meet a less active with a wheel chair in an hour. But I love you lots and lots and lots, and I can't wait to hear from you next week!
Love always,--Sora Karina
This week has brought a lot of changes. First of all, MY SISTER, CHERISSE, IS MARRIED!!!!! That is so crazy for me to think about. Not only is she no longer in Colorado or living at home, but her name is even different, and I kind of keep having little "holy cow" moments when I realize the differences that are happening. But I'm so excited for her and Alley--you were wondering if I was sad that I couldn't be there, and kind of yeah. It would have been AMAZING to be there in the temple with her and all of you, but at the same time, if I weren't here then I wouldn't have even been able to be in the temple at all, and instead I had a blast telling EVERYONE about her wedding and how she was getting married in the temple and how that was so important and so on. I was planning on singing "la multi ani" with my English class, but then I forgot and I was SO mad, but it's ok. I've promised to show them the pictures of her wedding when I get them (which I won't know for another 2 weeks when zone conference is, just send it and I'll get it) and they are all pretty excited about that. So conclusion: I had fun celebrating her wedding here in my own way with everyone around me whether they wanted to celebrate it or not ;} But it was fun, and i can't wait to hear all the details, and am so happy that it was all perfect.
Cherisse sent me a mini email telling me that she was at the airport on her way to Mexico and that the whole day was perfect! I am so glad. Ok, but enough of wedding talk, as for the mission we had a few changes here too.
Usually we get transfer calls on Saturday and then go to Bucuresti to find out where we're going but we're not doing that anymore. President Lundberg announced that we are never getting transfer calls ever again. Instead we had to wait til today and receive the transfer board by email. (Yes, Sora Thompson, I know it's crazy!) But that's what is happening now, and so we each have our individual travel arrangements which is really weird and I'm still trying to figure out how it all works, but that's ok...it's all gonna work out somehow. So to keep the suspense, or actually to kill it, I am staying here in Brasov and my companion is leaving to go to Arad! She'll be serving with Sora Slaeman who is one of the girls from my MTC group. I'm really excited. I'm kinda nervous because I still have the hardest time with the bus system here which is the only way to get around, and we'll probably get lost quite a few times in the next week or so, but it's ok. Sora Campbell will be getting here Wednesday morning so you'll hear more about her next week.
As for the work, the work is going. This has been the best week for the work this transfer, and I have had so much fun. But the work is continuing and the gospel is amazing. Families are so important in this gospel, in the whole plan that God has for us. And it is amazing the love that we feel from Heavenly Father in every single day.
But I need to run...we just found out we need to meet a less active with a wheel chair in an hour. But I love you lots and lots and lots, and I can't wait to hear from you next week!
Love always,--Sora Karina
Monday, July 27, 2009
6 month mark
Hey everyone!
I had a pretty amazing week...it was really fun. We had Zone Conference which is always a good thing, and I learned a lot about what I can do to do better than I'm doing right now. So Sora Jones and I are trying to learn how to do a few things different and it's been fun.
Some fun experiences from this week - we got 3 new investigators in one lesson, Elizabeta and Stefan and their son Catalin. Catalin has had a baptismal date 2 times, but both times he fell off the map during his school for his Ph.D. And Elizabeta has come to church many many times, so we finally got to talk to her and asked if she wanted to take the lessons again. Before this, her husband was against the church, but this time he sat in our first lesson with us and complimented the church up and down. "You teach out of what you believe in the Book of Mormon. You teach respect, you teach to not smoke or drink, you teach that families are important, and then you live it, too!" He thought that was the coolest thing, and it is (lol). But the funny thing is that he doesn't yet have a desire to come to church. He says he'll listen to us, but "I'll just send my ambassador (aka wife) over to your church, she'll tell me what you said to do there, and I'll do it!" Well, we'll work on that, but let me testify that when you teach someone true principles, if their heart is open, their desire to do the right thing will grow, and they'll start to want to do it. Anyways, that was fun.
Another fun thing was we went to a member's house, Sora Matei. And while we were there she needed help cleaning, and the way they clean here is so weird, but it works for them. And instead of using vacuums, they take their rug outside, hang it over a bar, and beat it. So Sora Jones and I got to take turns beating her rugs, and it was really fun! Oh, and I also got the package you sent - thanks! I love the pictures, and it will add color to our new apartment when we move there.
Oh and another thing...On Saturday we had a baptism! It was Violeta who had been taught by Elder Herrick and Elder Lyon, and it was really good. Her mom is a little crazy and wants to burn our church down because "you took my grandson away from me" who is Violeta's very cute son, but Violeta is 26 so I think it's ok, and we're not too worried about her mom. But the baptism was so good - we had 6 investigators and 5 less active members there, and the Spirit was sooooooo strong. And Violeta couldn't stop smiling, she was just so happy. It was awesome.
Other than that, not too much is going on other than the fact that I'm working, and it's really hot out here right now, and tomorrow is my 6th month mark! Crazy stuff - I can't believe that I've already been a missionary for 6 months!!! But it has been an amazing 6 months. I love it.
This gospel is true, and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else in the world right now...although going to the Temple with Cherisse this week is EXTREMELY tempting, but it will be ok. Her and Alley going to the Temple together is furthering the work of the Lord, and it is an example of what I have been teaching the people here in Romania about the gospel.
My companion and I have been working on getting the Young Women's program more organized here because it was just a social hour, and now it is a temple preparation learning area. We are taking each month and teaching the values of the YW and the last week of each month is us teaching how that value relates to the Temple and how it will help them prepare to go there eventually. It is really neat how everything in the gospel is centered on the Atonement and points to the Temple which is centered on the Atonement, and it truly is amazing. It is true.
I hope that all goes well this week - I am there in Spirit and love, and I am praying for all of you always. I love you so so very much. Good luck, have fun, do good, be happy, and may the blessings of God be upon you!
Love Always, --Sora Karina
ps.Sora Thompson - Ma bucur foarte mult pentru tine! Yay! Acea poza cu tine si Eric a fost foarte draguti si ma bucur ca sfaturile mele a mers pentru voi ;} Dar eu sunt foarte bine aici in Brasov si aceasta lucrare merge mai departe intotdeauna. Sora Jones a zis "buna si te iubesc!" Si zic eu de asemenea ca mie dor de tine, si astept acea zi cand pot sa fac cunostinta cu Eric si o sa fie foarte distractiv. Pana atunci, slujesc cu toata inima mea, si ma rog pentru voi. Sper ca totul mai este foarte bine si ca va distrati impreuna. Ai o zi frumoasa si mai vorbim! Cu drag intotdeauna, Sora Karina
I had a pretty amazing week...it was really fun. We had Zone Conference which is always a good thing, and I learned a lot about what I can do to do better than I'm doing right now. So Sora Jones and I are trying to learn how to do a few things different and it's been fun.
Some fun experiences from this week - we got 3 new investigators in one lesson, Elizabeta and Stefan and their son Catalin. Catalin has had a baptismal date 2 times, but both times he fell off the map during his school for his Ph.D. And Elizabeta has come to church many many times, so we finally got to talk to her and asked if she wanted to take the lessons again. Before this, her husband was against the church, but this time he sat in our first lesson with us and complimented the church up and down. "You teach out of what you believe in the Book of Mormon. You teach respect, you teach to not smoke or drink, you teach that families are important, and then you live it, too!" He thought that was the coolest thing, and it is (lol). But the funny thing is that he doesn't yet have a desire to come to church. He says he'll listen to us, but "I'll just send my ambassador (aka wife) over to your church, she'll tell me what you said to do there, and I'll do it!" Well, we'll work on that, but let me testify that when you teach someone true principles, if their heart is open, their desire to do the right thing will grow, and they'll start to want to do it. Anyways, that was fun.
Another fun thing was we went to a member's house, Sora Matei. And while we were there she needed help cleaning, and the way they clean here is so weird, but it works for them. And instead of using vacuums, they take their rug outside, hang it over a bar, and beat it. So Sora Jones and I got to take turns beating her rugs, and it was really fun! Oh, and I also got the package you sent - thanks! I love the pictures, and it will add color to our new apartment when we move there.
Oh and another thing...On Saturday we had a baptism! It was Violeta who had been taught by Elder Herrick and Elder Lyon, and it was really good. Her mom is a little crazy and wants to burn our church down because "you took my grandson away from me" who is Violeta's very cute son, but Violeta is 26 so I think it's ok, and we're not too worried about her mom. But the baptism was so good - we had 6 investigators and 5 less active members there, and the Spirit was sooooooo strong. And Violeta couldn't stop smiling, she was just so happy. It was awesome.
Other than that, not too much is going on other than the fact that I'm working, and it's really hot out here right now, and tomorrow is my 6th month mark! Crazy stuff - I can't believe that I've already been a missionary for 6 months!!! But it has been an amazing 6 months. I love it.
This gospel is true, and I wouldn't want to be doing anything else in the world right now...although going to the Temple with Cherisse this week is EXTREMELY tempting, but it will be ok. Her and Alley going to the Temple together is furthering the work of the Lord, and it is an example of what I have been teaching the people here in Romania about the gospel.
My companion and I have been working on getting the Young Women's program more organized here because it was just a social hour, and now it is a temple preparation learning area. We are taking each month and teaching the values of the YW and the last week of each month is us teaching how that value relates to the Temple and how it will help them prepare to go there eventually. It is really neat how everything in the gospel is centered on the Atonement and points to the Temple which is centered on the Atonement, and it truly is amazing. It is true.
I hope that all goes well this week - I am there in Spirit and love, and I am praying for all of you always. I love you so so very much. Good luck, have fun, do good, be happy, and may the blessings of God be upon you!
Love Always, --Sora Karina
ps.Sora Thompson - Ma bucur foarte mult pentru tine! Yay! Acea poza cu tine si Eric a fost foarte draguti si ma bucur ca sfaturile mele a mers pentru voi ;} Dar eu sunt foarte bine aici in Brasov si aceasta lucrare merge mai departe intotdeauna. Sora Jones a zis "buna si te iubesc!" Si zic eu de asemenea ca mie dor de tine, si astept acea zi cand pot sa fac cunostinta cu Eric si o sa fie foarte distractiv. Pana atunci, slujesc cu toata inima mea, si ma rog pentru voi. Sper ca totul mai este foarte bine si ca va distrati impreuna. Ai o zi frumoasa si mai vorbim! Cu drag intotdeauna, Sora Karina
Monday, July 13, 2009
Bloc knocking and other fun stuff
Hello family!
First I'll tell you about how hard the work is right now, but we've had some neat experiences with it. We went bloc knocking and it was really hard. (Blocs are the apartment buildings people live in.) We got kicked out of one bloc (somewhat nicely) and no one wanted to look at us, let alone give us the 2 seconds needed to start testifying. But the last bloc we went to for the night, I rang into it and I was struggling with the language after the lady who answered started asking me questions like who I was and who I was trying to see. She recognized that I was saying things really wrong (which was giving Sora Jones cause to look at me funny while she tried to figure out what I had just tried to say) and she asked me what language I speak, so I answered in Romanian that I speak English but I'm trying to learn Romanian. She responded in close to perfect English saying, "Ok, I'll let you in, but only because you speak Romanian." And opened the door. Holy Cow.
She wasn't interested in our message, but she took a pliant (pamphlet), was really nice and said maybe she'll come to church to see how it is. I hope that she does some day. But after talking to her we prayed to thank Heavenly Father that we got into that bloc, that someone was nice to us, and to ask for the spirit back because with the past 2 blocs, and the most recent getting kicked out of, the spirit of contention was a lot stronger than the spirit of God. So we prayed for that, and from the top of the bloc to the bottom, still no one wanted to listen to our message, but the Spirit was burning stronger and stronger in our hearts with each door, and I know that the Lord blessed us with that. It's like it says in Alma 31:38 - If we go to work and do everything that we need to do, the Lord will not suffer us to have any afflictions save they be swallowed up in the Atonement of Christ. This doesn't mean that we won't have afflictions, or that it won't be hard, but that His Spirit will be with us and help us to not see the sorrow, but to focus on Christ in all that we do. It was a neat experience.
Another neat experience we had was one night we were bloc knocking again, and were at the last door (most of the people hadn't been home) and a lady came into the bloc and started unlocking her apartment next to us. Sora Jones started talking to her, and she invited us in and we were able to teach her the Restoration. The neat thing was that Sora Jones started the lesson by telling her about the Book of Mormon, that we believe that it's scripture, and that we were there to tell her about that book. So we started our lesson, and all through the lesson, she kept asking us "ok, but what about that book?" "Yes, I understand God works through a Prophet, so how does that relate to that book?" And then we got to the Joseph Smith story, and told her that she could know if it was true by reading the Book of Mormon, where she replied by saying that she didn't have one. We told her the one that was on the table was for her to have, and she lit up so bright. "Really!? Oh, thank you so much! I can't wait to read this!" and then went on talking about how she knew that it was going to bless her life and she was so excited. She was just so hungry for the Book of Mormon, and it was a great lesson. We have found that the most effective contacting we do is when we use the Book of Mormon in our contacting. We read them a verse, or introduce it to them as a part of the message that we want to share with them, and it's been hard, but really neat to see how people's hearts are softened (for the most part) when we open up the Book of Mormon to them. Even if they're not willing to accept our message or learn more, they are always willing to listen when we start talking about the Book of Mormon. It's because it's true, and because we as missionaries love it, and we go out to tell people about something we love. It's amazing.
Also, it's been raining almost non-stop, which makes it really hard to work some days, but it's making everything here so green, and we're having fun. On one particular night we were frustrated and going home after a long day without any success, it was raining really hard, and spontaneously Sora Jones and I both started puddle jumping. We were out waiting for our bus to come at 8:45pm, huddling the 2 of us underneath a small umbrella that was starting to break, while standing in the middle of a big puddle that we had just jumped in (after many other puddles on our way to the bus stop) and the umbrella was kind of keeping all of us dry. But the puddle jumping caused everything from my knees down to be soaked. But it was really fun, and we had a good laugh over how ridiculous we were being. It was fun.
On Sunday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on how the Temple blesses our daily lives. It was fun to prepare, and I think that most of it made sense. I probably made some gramatical faux-pas, but oh well. The branch members understood what I was trying to say. But the 3 points that I gave were that the Temple helps us to focus on the Atonement of Christ, understanding that it is only through Him that we can return to the presence of Heavenly Father (and it's in the Temple that we begin to learn how to understand what it means to be in God's presence), the Temple gives us a pattern to help our homes become a heaven on earth, and when we strive to make the Temple a part of our lives (even if we can't go regularly but we are always worthy and keep it as our goal) we will be endowed with power, knowledge, protection, and love from our Heavenly Father.
It was really fun to study and prepare for that talk - and then translating my notes into Romanian for 4-5 hours was another blast. lol But it was good. Also, a lot of people in Romania don't really know how to be parents, so I love using examples of my mom and dad to help them understand that things always need to be done out of love even when a child does something bad, or even if it means to discipline the child instead of sitting and just telling them that they're not allowed to be doing what you are watching them do. It's interesting.
Sora Jones (who is amazing and I love her) and I taught Relief Society and in it I used an example of something that mom does to help us around the house. One of the members from thenceforth started describing mom as "draguta" (said dragutsah) which means "cute" in our sense. So now because my mom is a good mother, she is known to the women in Brasov as the "mother so cute". It made me smile.
The family reunion that you had sounds like so much fun! I'm glad that Jenna didn't get too lost when you went mountain biking, but got found again, and that everyone had fun.
I hope that everything keeps going amazingly for you all. I am doing great. I am loving the work regardless how hard it is sometimes, and every day I go home knowing that this is the truth, and everyone needs to know it. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have about the truth of the gospel. I am so so so thankful for you all, for my family, and I love you all so very much!
I love you always, and I'll write more next week! Always, --Sora Karina
Ps. Mom, can you please send me an email with the story about how Grandma and Grandpa Curtis met, and how Grandma and Grandpa Coy met and how they got married and such? We were talking about it as missionaries, and I realized I don't know those stories, and they would be fun to know. And I want to see pictures of Maudie's wedding if you can. Thanks! Love you!
psps- Sora Thompson - Ce faci? Fac eu foarte bine exact cum ai citit deja, dar, cred ca esti bine deasemenea. Este foarte distractiv ca Eric vine in curand, si familia ta este frumoasa. Familia mea a avut o petrecere impreuna septamana trecuta, si a fost bine sa ascult cum a mers pentru tine. Felicitari pentru scholarsipul tau (nu stiu ce este cuvantul, dar stii ce incerc sa zic). Va fi foarte bine. Si cand incepi scoala din nou? Stiu ca este prea repede, dar sper ca esti pregatita si entusiasmata. Te iubesc foarte mult, si ai o septamana plecuta. Distractia plecuta intotdeauna! Cu dragi, --Sora Karina
First I'll tell you about how hard the work is right now, but we've had some neat experiences with it. We went bloc knocking and it was really hard. (Blocs are the apartment buildings people live in.) We got kicked out of one bloc (somewhat nicely) and no one wanted to look at us, let alone give us the 2 seconds needed to start testifying. But the last bloc we went to for the night, I rang into it and I was struggling with the language after the lady who answered started asking me questions like who I was and who I was trying to see. She recognized that I was saying things really wrong (which was giving Sora Jones cause to look at me funny while she tried to figure out what I had just tried to say) and she asked me what language I speak, so I answered in Romanian that I speak English but I'm trying to learn Romanian. She responded in close to perfect English saying, "Ok, I'll let you in, but only because you speak Romanian." And opened the door. Holy Cow.
She wasn't interested in our message, but she took a pliant (pamphlet), was really nice and said maybe she'll come to church to see how it is. I hope that she does some day. But after talking to her we prayed to thank Heavenly Father that we got into that bloc, that someone was nice to us, and to ask for the spirit back because with the past 2 blocs, and the most recent getting kicked out of, the spirit of contention was a lot stronger than the spirit of God. So we prayed for that, and from the top of the bloc to the bottom, still no one wanted to listen to our message, but the Spirit was burning stronger and stronger in our hearts with each door, and I know that the Lord blessed us with that. It's like it says in Alma 31:38 - If we go to work and do everything that we need to do, the Lord will not suffer us to have any afflictions save they be swallowed up in the Atonement of Christ. This doesn't mean that we won't have afflictions, or that it won't be hard, but that His Spirit will be with us and help us to not see the sorrow, but to focus on Christ in all that we do. It was a neat experience.
Another neat experience we had was one night we were bloc knocking again, and were at the last door (most of the people hadn't been home) and a lady came into the bloc and started unlocking her apartment next to us. Sora Jones started talking to her, and she invited us in and we were able to teach her the Restoration. The neat thing was that Sora Jones started the lesson by telling her about the Book of Mormon, that we believe that it's scripture, and that we were there to tell her about that book. So we started our lesson, and all through the lesson, she kept asking us "ok, but what about that book?" "Yes, I understand God works through a Prophet, so how does that relate to that book?" And then we got to the Joseph Smith story, and told her that she could know if it was true by reading the Book of Mormon, where she replied by saying that she didn't have one. We told her the one that was on the table was for her to have, and she lit up so bright. "Really!? Oh, thank you so much! I can't wait to read this!" and then went on talking about how she knew that it was going to bless her life and she was so excited. She was just so hungry for the Book of Mormon, and it was a great lesson. We have found that the most effective contacting we do is when we use the Book of Mormon in our contacting. We read them a verse, or introduce it to them as a part of the message that we want to share with them, and it's been hard, but really neat to see how people's hearts are softened (for the most part) when we open up the Book of Mormon to them. Even if they're not willing to accept our message or learn more, they are always willing to listen when we start talking about the Book of Mormon. It's because it's true, and because we as missionaries love it, and we go out to tell people about something we love. It's amazing.
Also, it's been raining almost non-stop, which makes it really hard to work some days, but it's making everything here so green, and we're having fun. On one particular night we were frustrated and going home after a long day without any success, it was raining really hard, and spontaneously Sora Jones and I both started puddle jumping. We were out waiting for our bus to come at 8:45pm, huddling the 2 of us underneath a small umbrella that was starting to break, while standing in the middle of a big puddle that we had just jumped in (after many other puddles on our way to the bus stop) and the umbrella was kind of keeping all of us dry. But the puddle jumping caused everything from my knees down to be soaked. But it was really fun, and we had a good laugh over how ridiculous we were being. It was fun.
On Sunday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on how the Temple blesses our daily lives. It was fun to prepare, and I think that most of it made sense. I probably made some gramatical faux-pas, but oh well. The branch members understood what I was trying to say. But the 3 points that I gave were that the Temple helps us to focus on the Atonement of Christ, understanding that it is only through Him that we can return to the presence of Heavenly Father (and it's in the Temple that we begin to learn how to understand what it means to be in God's presence), the Temple gives us a pattern to help our homes become a heaven on earth, and when we strive to make the Temple a part of our lives (even if we can't go regularly but we are always worthy and keep it as our goal) we will be endowed with power, knowledge, protection, and love from our Heavenly Father.
It was really fun to study and prepare for that talk - and then translating my notes into Romanian for 4-5 hours was another blast. lol But it was good. Also, a lot of people in Romania don't really know how to be parents, so I love using examples of my mom and dad to help them understand that things always need to be done out of love even when a child does something bad, or even if it means to discipline the child instead of sitting and just telling them that they're not allowed to be doing what you are watching them do. It's interesting.
Sora Jones (who is amazing and I love her) and I taught Relief Society and in it I used an example of something that mom does to help us around the house. One of the members from thenceforth started describing mom as "draguta" (said dragutsah) which means "cute" in our sense. So now because my mom is a good mother, she is known to the women in Brasov as the "mother so cute". It made me smile.
The family reunion that you had sounds like so much fun! I'm glad that Jenna didn't get too lost when you went mountain biking, but got found again, and that everyone had fun.
I hope that everything keeps going amazingly for you all. I am doing great. I am loving the work regardless how hard it is sometimes, and every day I go home knowing that this is the truth, and everyone needs to know it. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have about the truth of the gospel. I am so so so thankful for you all, for my family, and I love you all so very much!
I love you always, and I'll write more next week! Always, --Sora Karina
Ps. Mom, can you please send me an email with the story about how Grandma and Grandpa Curtis met, and how Grandma and Grandpa Coy met and how they got married and such? We were talking about it as missionaries, and I realized I don't know those stories, and they would be fun to know. And I want to see pictures of Maudie's wedding if you can. Thanks! Love you!
psps- Sora Thompson - Ce faci? Fac eu foarte bine exact cum ai citit deja, dar, cred ca esti bine deasemenea. Este foarte distractiv ca Eric vine in curand, si familia ta este frumoasa. Familia mea a avut o petrecere impreuna septamana trecuta, si a fost bine sa ascult cum a mers pentru tine. Felicitari pentru scholarsipul tau (nu stiu ce este cuvantul, dar stii ce incerc sa zic). Va fi foarte bine. Si cand incepi scoala din nou? Stiu ca este prea repede, dar sper ca esti pregatita si entusiasmata. Te iubesc foarte mult, si ai o septamana plecuta. Distractia plecuta intotdeauna! Cu dragi, --Sora Karina
Monday, July 6, 2009
Happy Birthday, America!!
Me and my companion, Sora Jones
This is our district, two other sets of missionaries.
This is me on one of the seven sets of stairs that we climbed to see the waterfalls.
My dearest family,
My dearest family,
First off – HAPPY INDEPENDANCE DAY!
We had a fun time celebrating that here in Romania. We got together and made some good American food – chili cheese hot dogs with a vegetable platter with Ranch dressing and home-made root beer. If you didn't know, Ranch doesn't exist in this country (we made it from Ranch packets that people's moms had sent from home) and neither does root beer (you make it from root beer extract, add it to mineral water and then add sugar and you're good to go) and they definitely don't make hot dogs the same way we do. But we invited the branch to celebrate with us and a bunch of people actually came up and we had 3-legged races, wheelbarrow races, water mellon eating contests and seed spitting contests, duck-duck goose, musical chairs, and twister. So much fun!
Earlier that day we had our English class, and before the spiritual thought that we invite everyone to join each time, this crazy lady that is a beginning student had everyone stand up and sang us “La Multi Ani” or their happy birthday song, to America, and then presented us (the missionaries) with refreshment and wine. Funny! I don't know what happened to the wine because we considered lighting it on fire for our fireworks, but that of course didn't happen, but it was a good laugh!
Second – Happy Wedding Aunt Maudie! I hope that it was beautiful weather and lots of fun and good times, I missed you all and thought of you and I know it was just great.
Third – Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! I love you both and miss you lots, but hope that you were able to have a fun anniversary together, and that you actually got to do something since the past couple tries haven't really worked out too well lol! But I hope it was a great day.
Ok, now for me. The 7 stairs place that we went last week was really fun – it was quite a hike, and it was gorgeous right in the hearts of the greenest forests I've ever seen. It's so easy to see how the fairy tales were created when you look at these landscapes. But I'll try to send pictures of that if the computer here at internet is cooperative ;}
Today for fun we are going up to the ruins in Rasnov and to the castle in Bran. The castle is only open on Wednesdays so we won't be able to go inside, but this past week we ran into 2 Australian boys who were touring Eastern Europe for “holiday” and went up to Bran Castle (they were lost at the bus stop so we helped them to find their way) and we ran into them again after they came back and in their own words “It was nothing but a bunch of rooms filled with uninspiring wooden furniture” so apparently we're not missing much by just looking at it from the outside, but it will still be fun.
As for the work, it is going slow and steady and hard, but it is going, and I am enjoying so much my time with Sora Jones. We are learning a lot and working hard and I wouldn't have it any other way right now. Even when big things aren't happening, you can still see the hand of the Lord in your life and in this work, and we can know that He loves us so much, and that is what gives us the motivation to keep going: love. Love from God for us, for His children that we're talking to every day, our love for this people, and our love for the Lord. It truly is a blessing to see the relationship that you can have with God when you try to do all that you can in what He has asked of you. It is so wonderful.
But I love you all so so very much! I hope that you're having fun and taking care of yourselves. I pray for all of you always, and I'll talk to you next week! Love you!Always, --Sora Karina
P.S. Don't forget that this Wednesday is Zack's Birthday, and this Sunday is Elder Pardus' Birthday.
Psps – Sora Thompson: Stiu ca nu mai sunt in Arad, dar ma distrez foarte mult cu Sora Jones, si mie dor de tine. Sper ca vara merge foarte bine si ca esti fericita cu tot. Te iubesc! --Sora Karina
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