New Week= It's #3

                                

                                    This is the Roman Catholic Dome in Piata Unirii in Timisoara.

  According to tourist information on the interenet, Timisoara is known as the city of Parks.  This is a public square.
Another view of the same area:

Welcome to a new week everyone! I hope you all had a chance to watch General Conference and were able to get something out of it for yourself personally. I watched two sessions (the morning sessions) and didn't understand a ton since we watched them in Romanian. I'm okay with that though because the few members that were able to come and the few investigators that came also were able to enjoy it. Plus,  I could still feel the spirit, and we'll be able to see the talks in the Ensign next month. 

This week was zone conference. It seems that we talked a lot about love and how it can be applied to the work. We also talked about what it means to be a successful missionary. I've been thinking about both those things this week. I've been studying love because I have to speak about it this Sunday (wish me luck!). There are a lot of references you can find in the scriptures. One I liked is found in Moroni and says that perfect love casteth out all fear. Something else I found in Preach my Gospel is that love leads to action. When we love the people around us we serve more, we're happier, and we're not so self centered. When we truly have charity we have the ability to change lives. People can tell when you love them. It's evident in what you do. Likewise,  people can tell when you love Heavenly Father and our Savior. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." As we strengthen our love for Him, our actions will reflect it. We will become more like our Savior not because we have too, but because we want to. It becomes part of who we are.  We don't have to demonstrate our love through grand actions either. Sometimes the simplest thing makes all the difference. In last conference, L. Tom Perry shared a letter that he'd written to his mother back in 1945.  Part of it talks about how he was so grateful for all the little things his mother did for him--cooking meals, spending time with him, etc. As I think about my own parents, I think about how there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they love me because of our relationship and all the many small (and sometimes huge) ways they've served me over the years. Thanks, Mom and Dad. You probably don't even think about all the little things you do or know that they've had such an impact on me. You should know. I'm so grateful for you.

In this way we can also know of Heavenly Father's love for us. He's given us everything, and if we look, truly look, in our lives we can see His hand everyday. If you're feeling down, take a moment to think of how Heavenly Father has blessed you.

Yesterday, I had a cool experience. After conference, we got on the bus towards home. There was this woman sitting across the aisle from me. This feeling came over me that I needed to talk to her. I'll be honest, I kind of tried to ignore it. I have a hard time talking to people sometimes and especially with the language barrier it takes a lot more courage then just randomly talking to someone back home. I'm working on it and I know that I'll get better and that Heavenly Father will help me. Anyway, this went on for quite some time. The feeling grew stronger and stronger. It was kind of overwhelming. It was like my chest was going to explode. I don't know how else to describe it. I battle with myself for much too long I'm sure. I knew that if I didn't say something I would regret it as there was no doubt that the spirit was prompting me. Still I hesitated. Finally, I turned to Sora Heim and said, "Do you know what we could say to her? I feel like we should talk to her but I don't know what to say." 

"What do you want to say?"

"I don't know."

"Tell her you feel like you should talk to her."

And that's what I did. We weren't able to have a very long conversation, and it didn't lead to an investigator. I can't honestly tell you why I was meant to talk to her, but I left that bus feeling so good just because I knew I had done what Heavenly Father wanted me to do and had tried my best to do it. 

I know that Heavenly Father guides us in our lives. I know He loves us. I know he loves the branch here in Timisoara. I can feel it. I hope you all recognize Heavenly Father's love for you as well. I want to continue to strive to recognize that spirit in my life and act on it. I made a note in my study journal this week to always act on promptings and don't hesitate for in that hesitation you may miss a great opportunity to bless someone. 

I hope you all have a good week. 

-Sora Adams