My Mission and Before

April 28, 2014

Hello All!

Well this week was a lot faster then the past week. It was weird haha, but a really good week.

I wrote to you all on Tuesday... so let me think.

We did some contacting... Sorry everybody not a ton of exciting things happened on Tuesday. We got yelled at a couple of times. It was crazy. We were in our English class and we technically didn't have one because we have no students and we don't want to teach the random men that always come in to hit on us. We are sick of it. So unless more people come they are now going into Medium. So we were talking with Andreea about just how we can really have the spirit with us. It was just kinda talking about the things we studied and another "student" walks in so he just joins us. I just feel like they want to fight us. We let him say whatever he wanted then we just continued on and said we know what we know is true.

Later this girl... after our spiritual thought and everything just yells at Andreea and Sora Uhl for the next 20 minutes. It was ridiculous. She just told us that we were condemning everyone and that all churches are good. Except for ours. It was ridiculous. Poor Andreea she wouldn't even let us talk. Just some people are that way and that's just how they will be for a while at least.

That was literally about our day.

Wednesday... Oh this was the day Sora Uhl got sick. I was so worried. I had never seen her so sick. She's had a really hard time adapting. The poor girl. I felt so bad. She just felt horrible so I cleaned a lot and just made some phone calls for the rest of the week. The sister leaders also came down that night for an exchange so we had to get all ready for that.

Thursday... EXCHANGES. I went on an exchange with Sora Peterson and it was so great! Sora Peterson was in my group in the MTC and so it was just so much fun. I love this girl. I really wanted to work on just motivation and to always concentrating on what is in front of me. She taught me so many amazing things. They really have been working so far so I feel great now :) Thanks SORA!

We went and visited a less active that we haven't been able to see at all. I mean her phone is completely shut off and we had no way of how to communicate with her. So we just showed up and luckily she was there. She told us usually she hasn't even been around so it  was great that we were able to meet with her. Her and Sora Peterson hit it off immediately it was so funny. She is a really great lady. Just have to work with her on a few things... It was pouring rain and well... I refuse to wear boots now. I don't want to buy any. So while we walking to her apartment the Elders showed us where it is and Elder Bonner stops and says," Hey Sora... ummm you might want to clean your right leg before you go up." I was completely covered in mud... or weirdly just my right leg was.

Friday... We actually had a lesson. We got two new investigators from it too. It was a very interesting lesson. They are two ladies probably mid 30's and they are so nice. We teach them 30/30. THey are interested in knowing more about the gospel and we really wanted to make it very clear to them that our purpose is to teach people that they may be baptized into the correct church. We just went over the Book of Mormon. They both really just have this idea that all churches are great and that as long as you have Christ in your heart your saved. You just have to remember him... well. Yeah. We're working on it. They really are some of the nicest ladies though so I am excited to see where it'll go. We already have 2 lessons set up with them this week.

Also... I yelled at a guy.... Ughh. That was horrible. I'm not very good when people attack my faith and attack me. That's really hard for me. I did apologize after... but ughh. You know being Christ-like is super hard sometimes!

I've been studying a lot lately in Jesus the Christ. I am pretty much obsessed. I am always amazed though at how he did everything. In the pre-earth life we agreed to the circumstances and everything and Christ did too. That he would be our Savior and he would atone for all of us. When he came though it still was his decision. The Father. Our Heavenly Father will never ever take away our agency. Ever. The same was for Christ. He still had a choice. He could sin. He could be mean. He could yell at people. He could do all those things. But his will was swallowed up in the Father's. It's so amazing. It literally was his decision to be who he was. It's beautiful. I feel like the more I just try to align my will into the Father's that is when Christ-like attributes come. See the people the way the Father does. Serve them the way he does. Have patience the way he does. Have hope the way he does. It's just all about the will of the Father. I feel like I am just not explaining this the way I want to. Ughh... frustrations. Seriously though. People read Jesus the Christ. You wont regret it!

So Saturday... we had English and then we went contacting. Then we hopped on a maxi taxi headed to Bucuresti for District Conference. We stayed at the STL's house and it was so fun. I love the sisters in this mission so much! They are all so amazing.

Sunday... Gosh Sunday was amazing for me. The speakers were great. There were so many people there! I got to see Sora Letinu (Irina) I love her so much and when we saw each other we just gave each other the biggest hugs! I love her so so so so much! I got to see so many of the missionaries and I just loved seeing all these new and old faces. Panduri, Mihai Bravu, Ploiesti, Pitesti, Craiova, Galati, and Constanta all under one roof. It was literally the most people I have ever seen in the chapel. That was crazy. I felt like I was back home with all the people. It was just so cool. There was a little kid at one point at time that tried to take my name tag and then he pinched both of my cheeks. I have no clue who that kid is. Haha it was really funny though.

Sunday was also so special because I saw someone there who I haven't seen in forever. Well I hadn't seen a lot of them for a really long time. But a women when I was serving in Panduri last July we had met her and had been talking to her more about us and the gospel, she wasn't an investigator yet, but then I got transferred and I hadn't heard what had happened or anything since. She was at District Conference. I wanted to cry I was so happy. She was one of my favorite people that I had met here in Romania and I think I have thought of her at least every transfer since I left. She has started meeting with the Mihai Bravu sisters and I didn't even know! She actually recognized my voice first and then gave me the biggest hug and kissed me on the cheeks. And she is just one person. I just felt in that moment how each one of his children really are so precious to him. If just this one person who I cared about, didn't even know all that well, but cared about and saw that they were starting to accept the gospel... how excited and joyous must Heavenly Father be towards his children. I was so happy. She is just one person. One beautiful, amazing, wonderful person.
It really was just a lovely wonderful beautiful day.

Ready for this next week and the adventures that we will have. We'll have interviews with President and Sora Hill for the last time since they leave next transfer. I love them so much. It'll be so great and sad.

Well I think that's all for now. I love you all so much. The gospel is true. Just embrace it. Literally just go for it!

Love you all,

Sora Stewart

p.s. I have a problem. Went shopping today. Couldn't buy a single thing. I'm so cheap now. :( It's good but sad. I love shopping. I just can't convince myself to buy anything. *sigh* it was sad. :) LOVE YOU