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
Monday, July 27, 2009
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
Monday, June 29, 2009
Guess where I am
Hello everyone!
First of all, thank you for the emails, the recipe, and for forwarding all of those things for me...I really really appreciate it!
So, now I bet you're all wondering where I am at now, so I'll tell you. We had a good time in Bucuresti for transfer meeting, and a lot changed in transfer meeting. And I am now in Brasov with Sora Jones! Brasov (said brashove) is in the middle of the country in the middle of the mountains, and it is so beautiful here.
Sora Jones is actually my sister, meaning that Sora Thompson was also her trainer, and I have two other sisters - Sora Staley and Sora Gibbons and they are serving together in Iasi (said yash) and so our whole family are working together right now, and it's really fun. Sora Jones has been here for 3 transfers, and this will be her 4th, so she'll have served here a total of 6 months by the end of this transfer which is a long long time here. But we're already having fun.
One of our investigators here, Alexandra, is getting baptized on the 18th, so that's exciting, and another investigator, Alina, is like a mini version of Shaley. She is 14 but acts a lot like Shaley except she talks in Romanian, but she is so cute and it's fun to be with her a lot. Her parents currently won't let her get baptized, so we are working with her just to keep her progressing until either her parents soften up and say it's ok, or until she turns 18. But it's hard to help someone progress when they can't take the necessary steps according to the knowledge they've already received.
Anyways, we have a lot of work to do here. President Lundberg has asked that we make a goal of getting 5 new investigators a week. Difficult, but doable, and so we're trying to do that.
It rains pretty much every day here in the mountains, but again, it's beautiful, so we're just trying to learn how to adjust missionary work to rainy weather.
Also, my back is doing pretty ok - it's been starting to hurt about half way through the day until the end, so I'm going to get a different type of bag to hold everything to see if that helps, but it's not too bad, and I'm doing all right.
I'm so excited that the Bunkers are taking the lessons! It's so exciting when people are willing to do the things that will allow God to bless them in their lives. He wants to bless us, but we have to do what we can in order to give Him the opportunity.
And Brittany got sealed! that is also exciting. I'm glad to hear that everything is going well at home. Congrats to Shaley and Jenna on having a successful girl's camp, I'm so glad that you had fun!
Oh, and if you didn't know that Michael Jackson died, I did. All I've heard for the past couple days is about him - people we're contacting on the streets when they find out we're from the USA they say "oh, yeah. Michael died, did you know?" Yes, we know, and we don't care. We have a more important message than that...but it's funny. And pretty much every restaurant and bus has been playing all of his music for the past 2 or 3 days. It's funny.
Anyways, today we are going to sapte scari (the 7 stairs) which is kinda like stairway to heaven except it's 7 sets of ladders on a big mountain with waterfalls the whole way up, so I'll tell you about that next week.
I love you all so so very much, and I hope that all continues to go well with all that you are doing at home. Tell everyone at Maudie's wedding that I love them very much and I think about them often!
Have fun, and I'll write again next week!
Love always, --Sora Karina
First of all, thank you for the emails, the recipe, and for forwarding all of those things for me...I really really appreciate it!
So, now I bet you're all wondering where I am at now, so I'll tell you. We had a good time in Bucuresti for transfer meeting, and a lot changed in transfer meeting. And I am now in Brasov with Sora Jones! Brasov (said brashove) is in the middle of the country in the middle of the mountains, and it is so beautiful here.
Sora Jones is actually my sister, meaning that Sora Thompson was also her trainer, and I have two other sisters - Sora Staley and Sora Gibbons and they are serving together in Iasi (said yash) and so our whole family are working together right now, and it's really fun. Sora Jones has been here for 3 transfers, and this will be her 4th, so she'll have served here a total of 6 months by the end of this transfer which is a long long time here. But we're already having fun.
One of our investigators here, Alexandra, is getting baptized on the 18th, so that's exciting, and another investigator, Alina, is like a mini version of Shaley. She is 14 but acts a lot like Shaley except she talks in Romanian, but she is so cute and it's fun to be with her a lot. Her parents currently won't let her get baptized, so we are working with her just to keep her progressing until either her parents soften up and say it's ok, or until she turns 18. But it's hard to help someone progress when they can't take the necessary steps according to the knowledge they've already received.
Anyways, we have a lot of work to do here. President Lundberg has asked that we make a goal of getting 5 new investigators a week. Difficult, but doable, and so we're trying to do that.
It rains pretty much every day here in the mountains, but again, it's beautiful, so we're just trying to learn how to adjust missionary work to rainy weather.
Also, my back is doing pretty ok - it's been starting to hurt about half way through the day until the end, so I'm going to get a different type of bag to hold everything to see if that helps, but it's not too bad, and I'm doing all right.
I'm so excited that the Bunkers are taking the lessons! It's so exciting when people are willing to do the things that will allow God to bless them in their lives. He wants to bless us, but we have to do what we can in order to give Him the opportunity.
And Brittany got sealed! that is also exciting. I'm glad to hear that everything is going well at home. Congrats to Shaley and Jenna on having a successful girl's camp, I'm so glad that you had fun!
Oh, and if you didn't know that Michael Jackson died, I did. All I've heard for the past couple days is about him - people we're contacting on the streets when they find out we're from the USA they say "oh, yeah. Michael died, did you know?" Yes, we know, and we don't care. We have a more important message than that...but it's funny. And pretty much every restaurant and bus has been playing all of his music for the past 2 or 3 days. It's funny.
Anyways, today we are going to sapte scari (the 7 stairs) which is kinda like stairway to heaven except it's 7 sets of ladders on a big mountain with waterfalls the whole way up, so I'll tell you about that next week.
I love you all so so very much, and I hope that all continues to go well with all that you are doing at home. Tell everyone at Maudie's wedding that I love them very much and I think about them often!
Have fun, and I'll write again next week!
Love always, --Sora Karina
Monday, June 22, 2009
Last Week in Arad
Hello! How are you? I am doing GREAT!
This week was really good - hard, but good. We had a lot of people to visit, and not too much time because we went up to Nadlac twice, and that takes so much out of the day, but it was worth it. Ana had a baptismal date for this past Saturday, but she ended up not getting baptized because of a situation that we didn't understand and there were all sorts of fun mis-communications and so it didn't happen. But she still wants to get baptized - in fact she was disappointed that she couldn't on Saturday. We're planning for it to happen on the 4th of July in 2 weeks. Amalia's baptism did happen though, and it was so good. The Spirit was SO strong, and it was beautiful with a great turn out, including Ana. Amalia was so happy, and it is so neat to see how this gospel really is the message of joy and peace and how it changes our lives so much to the point where we want to follow God - regardless the sacrifice - because we know that it will bring us the most joy.
We also have a baptismal date for Corina, the mystery woman (the one that we taught, thinking she was someone else, and then realizing that she wasn't that person and that we didn't know her name) that I wrote about a few weeks ago, and she is getting baptized on the 4th of July also. She's so cute, and is just so excited to learn everything that we have to teach her. I love it.
Really the only other thing of much interest that I have to write to you is that I'm getting transfered! I have to leave Arad, which is going to be really hard, but it will be good. I leave tomorrow night (Tuesday) to go down to Bucuresti and then on Wednesday I find out where I will be serving for the next little while and with whom. It will be neat to see what is coming next, and though I am going to miss Arad a TON, I'm excited to go where the Lord has more work for me to do. The members of the Arad branch were really sad that I'm leaving though, and a lot of them are convinced that I'll come back and serve there again. I will go back, though I don't know if it will be as a missionary, so we'll see.
But yeah, a good busy week is past, and more fun times ahead, and you'll have to wait until next week to find out where I'm at!
Oh, and the language is still coming along. It's hard for me to see my own improvements, but things are going well and I'm loving it.
As for home stuff, It is so crazy that Cherisse is getting married in less than 40 days and counting! But so exciting at the same time - Thank's Cherisse for the pictures, so pretty! and I can't wait to see the dress on you, and I'm so glad to hear that you're doing good even with the cadaver lab lol! (I'll pray for your consciousness).
And I hope that Shaley and Jenn and Dad have the best time at girl's camp. Jenna is not old enough to be on the hike, because I remember going on that hike! Don't get eaten by any bears, ok? And Shaley, have fun being a YCL - you're such a great leader already, so just have fun with it. And Tamara - have such a great sleep over!
And that is so cool about Josh and David. Tell them I say hi and keep me posted with the missionary lessons (I pray about them every night). Anyways, I love you all so so so so much! And I'm excited to hear from you again next week and to tell you what's up with me!
Love you all MUAH!--Sora Karina
p.s. Mom, Zack's birthday is July 8th, and Elder Pardus' birthday is July 12th. And also, is the chocolate cookie recipe coming soon, along with Shaley and Jenna's email address? Because that would be so awesome! I love you lots!
psps - Sora Thompson: Ani a plans cand a citit scrisoarea ta, si mi-a zis sa-ti spun ca ea te iubeste foarte mult si multumesc pentru tot! Familia Banici-Wagner face bine si tot este bun. Te iubesc pe tine ;} Cu dragi, Sora Karina
This week was really good - hard, but good. We had a lot of people to visit, and not too much time because we went up to Nadlac twice, and that takes so much out of the day, but it was worth it. Ana had a baptismal date for this past Saturday, but she ended up not getting baptized because of a situation that we didn't understand and there were all sorts of fun mis-communications and so it didn't happen. But she still wants to get baptized - in fact she was disappointed that she couldn't on Saturday. We're planning for it to happen on the 4th of July in 2 weeks. Amalia's baptism did happen though, and it was so good. The Spirit was SO strong, and it was beautiful with a great turn out, including Ana. Amalia was so happy, and it is so neat to see how this gospel really is the message of joy and peace and how it changes our lives so much to the point where we want to follow God - regardless the sacrifice - because we know that it will bring us the most joy.
We also have a baptismal date for Corina, the mystery woman (the one that we taught, thinking she was someone else, and then realizing that she wasn't that person and that we didn't know her name) that I wrote about a few weeks ago, and she is getting baptized on the 4th of July also. She's so cute, and is just so excited to learn everything that we have to teach her. I love it.
Really the only other thing of much interest that I have to write to you is that I'm getting transfered! I have to leave Arad, which is going to be really hard, but it will be good. I leave tomorrow night (Tuesday) to go down to Bucuresti and then on Wednesday I find out where I will be serving for the next little while and with whom. It will be neat to see what is coming next, and though I am going to miss Arad a TON, I'm excited to go where the Lord has more work for me to do. The members of the Arad branch were really sad that I'm leaving though, and a lot of them are convinced that I'll come back and serve there again. I will go back, though I don't know if it will be as a missionary, so we'll see.
But yeah, a good busy week is past, and more fun times ahead, and you'll have to wait until next week to find out where I'm at!
Oh, and the language is still coming along. It's hard for me to see my own improvements, but things are going well and I'm loving it.
As for home stuff, It is so crazy that Cherisse is getting married in less than 40 days and counting! But so exciting at the same time - Thank's Cherisse for the pictures, so pretty! and I can't wait to see the dress on you, and I'm so glad to hear that you're doing good even with the cadaver lab lol! (I'll pray for your consciousness).
And I hope that Shaley and Jenn and Dad have the best time at girl's camp. Jenna is not old enough to be on the hike, because I remember going on that hike! Don't get eaten by any bears, ok? And Shaley, have fun being a YCL - you're such a great leader already, so just have fun with it. And Tamara - have such a great sleep over!
And that is so cool about Josh and David. Tell them I say hi and keep me posted with the missionary lessons (I pray about them every night). Anyways, I love you all so so so so much! And I'm excited to hear from you again next week and to tell you what's up with me!
Love you all MUAH!--Sora Karina
p.s. Mom, Zack's birthday is July 8th, and Elder Pardus' birthday is July 12th. And also, is the chocolate cookie recipe coming soon, along with Shaley and Jenna's email address? Because that would be so awesome! I love you lots!
psps - Sora Thompson: Ani a plans cand a citit scrisoarea ta, si mi-a zis sa-ti spun ca ea te iubeste foarte mult si multumesc pentru tot! Familia Banici-Wagner face bine si tot este bun. Te iubesc pe tine ;} Cu dragi, Sora Karina
Monday, June 15, 2009
6 months gone by
Dear Family and friends and everyone out there who is not here in Romania,
Hi! How are you? I am doing great - we had a pretty fun week.
First I want to mention that I have already been on this mission for almost 6 months. What!?! Yeah, 6 months, and the time just keeps getting faster. But it's good. So this week, I made cherry jam Romanian style, but I cooked it just a little too long. So instead of being slightly spreadable like jam should be, it was more like candy that we put on bread because it was so thick. But it was still good, and it was fun to make.
Then we went to a selbatoare or a Romanian celebration for the end of school at Amalia's school that she works at for special needs kids. It was so cute! and super fun. They had awards and then Amalia's class (kids of about 8-10 years of age) put on a traditional dance performance for us, all dressed up and everything. Super cute. We told Amalia we loved it and her clothes were so cute on her, so she brought us the clothes to try on ourselves. It was neat. I don't think I look nearly as cute as she did, but it was still fun to try on the traditional Romanian clothes. Oh, and we had a mock interview for Amalia's baptism so that she wouldn't be so nervous about it, and it went really well. She's getting baptized this Saturday!!! And she is getting less nervous and more excited about it as time goes on, so now we're just praying that all goes well until then. I'm not nervous - it will be great.
Also, Ana is our investigator that lives 50 km away from Arad in a little town called Nadlac, and we got permission to go and visit her out there so that we can better help her prepare for her baptism which will also hopefully be this Saturday. (It might get moved to next week Sat. but we'll find that out on Wednesday.) So last Wednesday we went on a train to Nadlac which took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there, and 1/2 hr. to walk to her house from the Gara. But it is such a cute little town - their down town is one street with smaller blocs than here in Arad and everything around that is little homes with their patch of grass and garden, and so many cherry trees in bloom and just quaint little fun. It's about 2 km away from the Hungarian border. And on top of the telephone polls are these HUGE nests with storks that live there - and there are some baby storks and it was really fun to see them perched up there.
So we went to her house and taught her and her son (acutaly it's her sister's son but she didn't want him and so Ana raised him) and then we went back to the Gara thinking that the train would leave at 1:10 like the schedule said, but really it left at 12:50 and we got there at 1:00. So we had the privilege of waiting in Nadlac for 3 hours until the next train left at 3:50 and we got back into Arad by 5:30 and we were just exhausted from being out in the heat and not doing anything. But it was still a really good day.
I love seeing how the gospel changes people's lives for the better - Ani and Lica and Bogdan are all doing really good - Lica got a job and is now providing for his family. It's hard for them, but it's going well. And (Sora Thompson, you'll love this) Ani made a calander that she has taped to their wardrobe door to keep track of how much she yells in each day, vs. how much she whispers and laughs in each day. It is so cute. I don't know how much progress it's making, but she's trying to continue to perfect herself. It is amazing what a difference it makes in your life to have a testimony of something true. I know that it has made enough of a difference in my life that I had a desire to even leave home for 1 1/2 years to come here and tell people what I know to be true. Even when some of those people laugh at my face for it, despise me for it, or completely ignore my message, there are people here who need the message - everyone needs the message that Christ lives and guides His own church through a living Prophet today. But there are people here prepared to receive it. I know that it is true, and it is such a blessing that I am able to share it with others.
I love hearing your stories mom, and that is so great about the Bunkers and about Brittany and her husband! That made me so happy. I love hearing about what you are doing and how you are all doing - keep me posted on how Josh is doing and Karl and if you ever hear what Orion or Zack is up to tell them I miss them and love them lots. I love all of you lots and lots, and I pray for you all every night. Keep working hard and having fun, and I'll keep doing the same. Have an amazing week, and I'm excited to hear from you next week!
LOVE YOU LOTS!
Always, --Sora Karina
ps. Sora Thompson, yes it is all true about the sisters getting sick and people getting moved around, but now Timi is back to normal and Constanta has a mini - and we are getting 3 new sisters and a different mini in 2 weeks for next transfer, plus an elder. AND all but 2 srzls are going home in 2 weeks! Crazy crazy...everything is going to change so much, so it will be interesting. But I'm glad that you're doing well, and I love you lots! Keep being a great missionary!
Hi! How are you? I am doing great - we had a pretty fun week.
First I want to mention that I have already been on this mission for almost 6 months. What!?! Yeah, 6 months, and the time just keeps getting faster. But it's good. So this week, I made cherry jam Romanian style, but I cooked it just a little too long. So instead of being slightly spreadable like jam should be, it was more like candy that we put on bread because it was so thick. But it was still good, and it was fun to make.
Then we went to a selbatoare or a Romanian celebration for the end of school at Amalia's school that she works at for special needs kids. It was so cute! and super fun. They had awards and then Amalia's class (kids of about 8-10 years of age) put on a traditional dance performance for us, all dressed up and everything. Super cute. We told Amalia we loved it and her clothes were so cute on her, so she brought us the clothes to try on ourselves. It was neat. I don't think I look nearly as cute as she did, but it was still fun to try on the traditional Romanian clothes. Oh, and we had a mock interview for Amalia's baptism so that she wouldn't be so nervous about it, and it went really well. She's getting baptized this Saturday!!! And she is getting less nervous and more excited about it as time goes on, so now we're just praying that all goes well until then. I'm not nervous - it will be great.
Also, Ana is our investigator that lives 50 km away from Arad in a little town called Nadlac, and we got permission to go and visit her out there so that we can better help her prepare for her baptism which will also hopefully be this Saturday. (It might get moved to next week Sat. but we'll find that out on Wednesday.) So last Wednesday we went on a train to Nadlac which took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there, and 1/2 hr. to walk to her house from the Gara. But it is such a cute little town - their down town is one street with smaller blocs than here in Arad and everything around that is little homes with their patch of grass and garden, and so many cherry trees in bloom and just quaint little fun. It's about 2 km away from the Hungarian border. And on top of the telephone polls are these HUGE nests with storks that live there - and there are some baby storks and it was really fun to see them perched up there.
So we went to her house and taught her and her son (acutaly it's her sister's son but she didn't want him and so Ana raised him) and then we went back to the Gara thinking that the train would leave at 1:10 like the schedule said, but really it left at 12:50 and we got there at 1:00. So we had the privilege of waiting in Nadlac for 3 hours until the next train left at 3:50 and we got back into Arad by 5:30 and we were just exhausted from being out in the heat and not doing anything. But it was still a really good day.
I love seeing how the gospel changes people's lives for the better - Ani and Lica and Bogdan are all doing really good - Lica got a job and is now providing for his family. It's hard for them, but it's going well. And (Sora Thompson, you'll love this) Ani made a calander that she has taped to their wardrobe door to keep track of how much she yells in each day, vs. how much she whispers and laughs in each day. It is so cute. I don't know how much progress it's making, but she's trying to continue to perfect herself. It is amazing what a difference it makes in your life to have a testimony of something true. I know that it has made enough of a difference in my life that I had a desire to even leave home for 1 1/2 years to come here and tell people what I know to be true. Even when some of those people laugh at my face for it, despise me for it, or completely ignore my message, there are people here who need the message - everyone needs the message that Christ lives and guides His own church through a living Prophet today. But there are people here prepared to receive it. I know that it is true, and it is such a blessing that I am able to share it with others.
I love hearing your stories mom, and that is so great about the Bunkers and about Brittany and her husband! That made me so happy. I love hearing about what you are doing and how you are all doing - keep me posted on how Josh is doing and Karl and if you ever hear what Orion or Zack is up to tell them I miss them and love them lots. I love all of you lots and lots, and I pray for you all every night. Keep working hard and having fun, and I'll keep doing the same. Have an amazing week, and I'm excited to hear from you next week!
LOVE YOU LOTS!
Always, --Sora Karina
ps. Sora Thompson, yes it is all true about the sisters getting sick and people getting moved around, but now Timi is back to normal and Constanta has a mini - and we are getting 3 new sisters and a different mini in 2 weeks for next transfer, plus an elder. AND all but 2 srzls are going home in 2 weeks! Crazy crazy...everything is going to change so much, so it will be interesting. But I'm glad that you're doing well, and I love you lots! Keep being a great missionary!
Monday, June 8, 2009
more pictures!
This is Ani and Lica after their wedding. They were so happy!
Ani and Lica at their baptism.
This is the bazin that we fill with a hose for people to be baptised in. They get in using the ladder in the background.
These apartments are called blocks for obvious reasons.
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