My Mission and Before

September 2, 2013

Hello!
Gosh I am just full of energy and I am just so excited for a lot of reasons. It was just really an awesome week it really really was. Oh and of course there was transfer boards and I found out that I am.... going...... toooo........ ARAD! HOORAY! Haha I'm really excited and I get to be serving with Sora Ralls who is two transfers behind me. She is just so darling I am so excited we are just going to kick but there! I'm kinda sad that I am leaving Panduri already but hey I'll go where the Lord wants me to go.

Just saying this email will be long. Warning you now.

 

This week though kinda started out as a normal week. Sora Letinu and I continued to contact and thank goodness that the weather has started to shift here. It's starting to finally cool down. It's actually really weird to me that it is starting to cool down when it's supposed to. We really do have 4 seasons here. I don't know if I have told you about our zone goal but we wanted as a zone to invite over 1000 people to come unto Christ. Which meant a lot of contacting. Well we actually had achieved that goal this last week and so the zone leaders wanting to push our potential set out another goal. In alexandria there are 2 missionaries and it's a small town and they contact as well I have done this last transfer. So they were getting like 120 commiting others to come unto christ every week. So the zone leaders decided that they wanted each district to try and compete with them to see who would get the most CCC's. And well you know me with competitions. Our whole district would get together and we would just contact our little butts off! Of course if we found someone willing to talk we would get their number and sit down with them. But this goal really made us set out to talk to EVERYONE. They actually said once in the MTC that if each missionary would contact 10 more people then normal our potential investigators would grow and then our progressing, and then our baptisms. It's just what it follows you know. And we have seen this. I believe that our district contacted over 317 people this week! And this is just the start with this goal it has made me think of my own personal goal to contact. :) Pushing myself more and more :) It's great!

I also had sister exchanges this week and since well I live in the same apartment with the STL's I got to exchange with both of them. And something I really wanted to focus on was just using the spirit for everything. Specifically with contacting. Now usually in contacting... gosh I get super anxious it's just awkward and uncomfortable ya know. So when I was with Sora Stapley we had an amazing and I mean AMAZING companion study. It's super interesting because I concentrated a lot on how we can use the spirit and it just pointed out to me over and over again of how we have confidence in ourselves when we should just trust in the Lord to guide us. He will not lead us astray because we are doing His work. It was just SOO COOL! And then we just talked about prayer and that with prayer we can have the spirit with us. So that day we really made a goal to say prayers continually throughout the day. So anytime we would enter a park or enter a metro or anything we would just say a prayer and then as we were sitting we just asked to be guided to people and help us open our mouths to know what to say. It was AMAZING! I have never felt such peace before when I was contacting. And even though we really didn't have "success" in obtaining numbers or referrals it meant more then the world to just have the spirit testify of everything we said as we contacted. It's what I was praying and searching for for the past transfer. I can't even explain how much it meant to me. I wish I would have done this before my mission and my first transfer and it's something that I will continually doing throughout the mission. Later that evening when we were going over goals to set Sora Stapley looks at me and just says Sora Stewart you just have no idea how other people see you. And of course I just stare back at her and say what on Earth are you talking about. And she just continued to say that I didn't see the good things about myself. And that I dwell so much on everything that I have to fix or everything that I need to do to be better. And then she opened up a scripture in Moses 7.

And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced. And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept.

She then looked up and me and said when we let Satan whisper in our ears that's what he does. He laughs. And he tightens the chains around our wrists. And our beloved Heavenly Father He weeps for us. He weeps because He knows our potential. He's created us and He knows how wonderful we are. And so when I let Satan whisper in my ear telling about all my flaws and everything I am doing this to myself! And what Heavenly Father really wants is He wants me to realize my faults but then to talk them to Him and ask His help.

I was absolutely shocked. Because I know I do this... but it was because I wanted to grow and be better it was because I know that I have so much to grow and do. I was just doing it the wrong way. It was just a beautiful moment. And it ended with tears and hugs and hey that's just what sister missionaries do.

The next day was transfers and we found out Sora Gerhartz after 6 transfers in Buharest which is half her mission, is opening the first city in Oradea! So exciting! But I exchanged with her and we again focused on following the spirit. It was super interesting as we focused on the same thing but it was two totally different things. We had really talked and opened up to one another and I felt that some of my biggest questions that I had been pondering to the Lord had finally been answered. And I mean there were quite a few and I know that she was inspired by the spirit to tell me the things she said. It was amazing. Later that night we had a lesson with Mariana and it was so beautiful as we just followed the spirit and let it do everything. And later that night our potential Lily who owns a store below our Block it was her birthday. So we all went down and suprised her with cake since she had to work on her birthday. I have never felt so much love before. She was just in tears as she embraced each and every one of us and just gave us kiss after kiss. Haha don't be suprised when I come home and I kiss you all on the cheeks. That's just what we do here. Don't worry it's normal. :) hehe.

Gosh it was just such a great week!

And I'm just so grateful that I have more time to make so much more of my mission. I feel like every transfer just gets better and better. I am also really going to miss Sora Letinu. She has been AMAZING! And she is just such a trooper. I mean if I were a mini I don't think I would do all that I had her do. Haha. I would probably not be waking up at 6:30 haha that's for sure. :) but no she is just so amazing and funny and we just LOVE each other. I really do love her. She actually told me this week that if I don't write her every week she will punch me in the face. haha actually she said iti voi sparge fata. HAHAH So funny. I just love her so much. And this week she looked sad and I was like hey why the  heck are you sad and she looks at me and just goes I'm going to miss you and when I leave on Wednesday I'm going to cry. Gosh it just hit my heart! How much I love and adore her! I told her she can't cry because if she cries then I'm going to cry and we are eternal friends now! And I'm just going to be that crazy friend who she can't get rid of! She laughed at that. :) Changes are still hard for me especially when you just have love for someone so much. She will do great things in Spain I can't wait for her and to hear all about her adventures!

So Aunt Kath said that I should put something about the culture here. So I am going to put something about the food here. This week Sora Letinu and I made Saramale. Gosh it is so dang good I love it. :) It's basically pork with like grinded peppers and other seasonings with rice and a little bit of bacon in the pot not in the saramale and you mix it all together and then you roll it is cabbage leaves boil it as you put some tomato paste in it as well on top . GOsh it is so dang good. It's a huge thing here and it's super flavorful. :) Yum I have basically had that all week :) And they eat it with sour cream and paine! So good :) I love it. I'll have to make it at home or you guys can all try to make it yourself. :)

Also every area in Romania the people talk a bit different. Buch gosh they talk super fast. I have gotten really good at listening though and understanding. Just a good thing that happened I understood everything at church :) Which was a good and bad thing... And in cluj they always say Cum esti and servus and if you said that here gosh they would look at you weird. Also they say Pa here and if I say pa in Arad people will look at me super weird they say Ciao there. Romania is really interesting because it's the most latin of all languages but they have adapted things from Slovic languages for example to say I it's Eu. but they say it Yo. Hah it's interesting. Little thing about Romania. I'll think of better ones next time :)

I think that's it for now.

Thanks all for the messages I really really really appreciate them a lot! And hearing about how it's just growing back home. It may not be that way here yet with all of the help with members and referalls... but we are trying our little hearts first and we are seeing it grow person by person. And I do know that the church in Romania will be great one day. In the dedication prayer it says that it will be an example country to surrounding nations and I know that it has that great potential! I can't wait to see that day :) But until then we are building the church here with great people like Sora Letinu. Pioneers. It makes me appreciate my ancestors so much more :)

Love you all!
Sora Stewart