Arad

It's official. I'm in Arad. It's pretty close to my first area (Timisoara). The funny thing is that I used to come here for conferences all the time, and now I'm actually serving here. Also, tomorrow we'll be going to Timisoara for zone training meeting. I'm kind of excited to see the city again. It will also be a little weird being back after so long. 

I saw some beautiful scenery along the way:

                                                       Saying goodbye to my companion.

    My pony companion and our new adventure.

                                               

It's hard to think of what to talk about on transfer week sometimes. There's packing, making it to your train on time, unpacking, learning about the new area. There's a lot to be done! I did go to Ikea this week. That was exciting. It's only the third time in my life I've been and the first time I've eaten there. Not bad. Not bad. I also got a cold. At least I didn't get it at Thanksgiving this year, right family? (I probably just jinxed myself to get a secondary cold. Should have thought that one through.) I'm hanging in there though! Never fear! I can also tell you this--Sora Ralls is awesome. I feel like we've hit it off pretty well so far. Plus we have some similar goals for the transfer, so it's going to be good! Mostly we've been working on contacting for English classes which start back up again next week. 

Other notes on Arad:
From what I've seen so far, it seems like a nice city. Also there's a covrigi (pretzel) place right down the street from my apartment. I love those. So it could be a blessing and a curse really. I already love the branch. What more can I say? They just seem so awesome. I can't wait to work with them more.

We have already set up some lessons for this week, so hopefully I'll have more to say next week. Until then, here's your spiritual thought for the week :)

Let me tell you a few reasons I'm grateful to Heavenly Father this week. First of all, He helps me overcome my weaknesses. I'm not perfect. None of us are. I'm reminded of a quote I saw recently by Neal A. Maxwell. It says, "God does not begin by asking us about our ability but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, He will increase our capability." I think that so often we don't necessarily feel confident that we can accomplish all the things that may be required of us. The idea of a new calling may be overwhelming. But as I've been learning time and again, Heavenly Father works with imperfect beings. He brings forth His work by small and simple things. So often, it's the simple things that have a changing influence or the strength to make a difference. We are weak, yes, but through the Holy Spirit we are made strong, and we can be led to teach, comfort, guide, to be answers to the prayers of another.

I'm also grateful to Heavenly Father because He knows the desires of my heart and He knows my concerns and He responds to them. And He helps me to realize the blessings in my life, and how I'm improving. He helps me to have hope and optimism in life. I have hope for the people here in Romania. It occurred to me this week that the more I serve among them the more I come to love them. There truly are some wonderful people here, and I'm grateful for this opportunity to be here with them. Not all of them are ready for the gospel yet, but I'm confident that every touch is important. Even if we can help brighten someone's day, I feel good about our work here. I do feel like we're making a difference, and that this work is of great importance.

In conclusion, I'm so grateful to our Savior through which we can receive the ultimate hope, hope for a better day, for eternity with those we love, for exaltation.

I hope you all have a great week!

Cu mare drag,

Sora Adams


PS: Thanks for the packages from home!! They were wonderful! =)