Homecoming

Hello all! Danielle here, formerly known as Sora Adams. It's hard to believe that I've been home for almost two month now. Time really is a curious thing. Upon my return home I was asked to speak in my home ward. I was able to choose my topic, and I chose hope as it is through our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the merciful plan of our Heavenly Father that we can live lives full of hope despite the trials we may face. I've decided to share that message with you. Keep reading! Here's the written text of my talk. It was slightly different when I actually gave it as at the last minute I added some little thing or left something out, but this is the original text I prepared:

One of my favorite gospel topics is that of hope. As part of the plan of salvation and our time here on earth we all have trials we must face. I have seen the difference in the lives of people weighed down by their trails or by fear and sadness from viewing the world around them, those who face life without hope, versus those that despite all that life throws at them their faces are bright with smiles and their hearts are full of peace. I want to assure you that you can have that same peace in your hearts despite the hardships you may face or the evils you may see in the world around you.

We read in the scriptures where our source of hope comes from. In Ether we read: “Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God” (Ether 12:4).

We read in Moroni: “What is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise” (Moroni 7:41).

We learn from these two verses that hope must be founded upon faith and trust in our Heavenly Father and in His son, even our savior, Jesus Christ. As we work to increase our faith and strengthen our relationship with our Father and our Savior we come to realize that we do have something to hope for. Because Heavenly Father has a plan and the Savior accepted His role in that plan both death and Hell have been overcome. Each one of us will be resurrected with perfect bodies, never to die again. Eternal life is made available to us through the atonement. We must do our part, striving to live in accordance with the gospel, but also remembering that the price has been paid for our mistakes. If we will utilize the atonement, we will be strengthened and cleansed from sin. Because our Savior suffered for us we may gain eternal life. We may life with our Father in Heaven and with our loved ones. The path has been laid before us. We’re even given maps so to speak through the scriptures, personal revelation, and the words of living prophets.

The path isn’t an easy one. In the scriptures the Lord’s path is described as straight and narrow while Satan’s is described as wide and broad. Satan tries to make his path seem easier and more desirable. But truthfully, his is the path without hope. Hope, as we’ve read, comes through our Savior and our trust in Him—trust that He will keep His promises, that He will not lead us astray, and that He will strengthen us.

So how do we strengthen our hope even when faced with trial? To strengthen our hope we must first strengthen our faith, and in order to do that we must learn of Him. The best way to do that is to read the scriptures and to apply His teachings. This sometimes means that we will be asked to do things that we’re not sure why we were asked to do them in the first place. But we can take courage knowing that He knows better than we do and that He will never ask us to do something that isn’t for our benefit. As we live the principles of the gospel even when we don’t understand them, we will gain testimony of those things, and we will be blessed for our faith.

Let me share a couple examples where I saw great and inspiring faith on my mission. Romania has seen its fair share of trial. 25 years ago they had a revolution against their communist government. They’ve made a lot of progress since then, but it seems that the effects of that era still touch them in some way. They consider themselves a poor people. Work is hard to come by, and most opportunities don’t pay enough to live on, so it is common for both parents to work long hours, many times daily. In other cases, a spouse may leave to another country where they can earn more money and send it back home to their family.

In one of the areas I served in, the relief society president shared an experience which demonstrates her great faith and courage. Although her husband and children were all baptized together, she is the only one who remains active. She worked very hard to help earn money to provide for her family. This sister was scrimping and saving every penny so that she would be able to return to the temple. When she had finally managed to save enough money, one of her daughters approached her parents asking for help to pay tuition in order to continue her schooling. The family knew that their mother had some extra money set aside. This sister had to make what she called the hardest decision of her life. She loves her family, and of course she would do anything to help them, but if she gave up that money, that meant giving up this opportunity to go to the temple, which is a hard thing to accomplish in and of itself. The members of Romania have to travel to either Germany or Ukraine to attend the temple, an expensive journey. In the end, this sister decided to use the money for her temple trip. Her family didn’t understand and were angry with her because of her decision. I can only imagine what she must have felt. Still, she went to the temple. When she arrived and stepped into that sacred building, all doubt was gone. She was filled with the spirit and knew that she had made the right decision.

Another sister also saved every penny with the hopes of returning to the temple. This woman was always overflowing with hope and optimism. She recognized how blessed she had been, and she told me more than once that she would never go back to her old life from before she was baptized. It wasn’t worth it. Despite financial hardships, this sister never had a problem with paying her tithing. I was touched as she explained to me that every time she pays her tithing she imagines that it’s her small little brick that she adds in the building up of the kingdom of God.

Because these two sisters remained faithful despite their trials, they were able to continue to enjoy the blessings promised to the faithful. They rejoiced in the fact that they were still able to attend church meetings, and they were able to continue on with strength and hope because they recognized the blessings of the gospel and that Heavenly Father was aware of them and their trials.

Another way that we strengthen our faith and therefore our hope is by daily personal prayer. The more we speak to our Father in Heaven the more we will be open to the spirit. We will be more open to His love and direction. He will help us to see that He does have a plan for us. He will help to strengthen our hope and our faith if we ask Him.

Another way to live a life more full of hope is to develop an attitude of gratitude. There is something in every day that we can be grateful for. Every night on my mission, I would ask my companions to tell me three things they were thankful for that day. They would tell me three things and then I would tell them three things. By doing this it made it so much easier to have a spirit of optimism. It helped direct our focus on the good things and all the little blessings we’d seen in the day. It was something which helped me to recognize the Lord’s hand in my life. Every night in my journal I would conclude by writing what I was thankful for and how I had seen the hand of the Lord in my life that day. That constant reminder helped me maintain hope from day to day and to fight off discouragement because I knew that I wasn’t alone.

I remember one woman in my fourth transfer who was recommended to us by a member. We arranged to meet with her, and after talking with her for a while, I’m sorry to say that I didn’t see any potential with her. She had some great trails in her life in that moment, and she couldn’t seem to focus on anything else. She seemed to scoff at the things we were saying and the encouragement we offered. At one point my companion tried to help her realize that there was still good in her life, that she still had things to be grateful for. My companion pointed out that this woman had a daughter. Certainly that was a great blessing. The woman responded by saying, “And what if I didn’t have her?” I was surprised and thought this woman would never be able to see anything but the bad unless she herself chose to find the good. I was more surprised still when she agreed to meet with us again. My companion urged her to think of what she was grateful for daily. An arrangement was made where my companion would call her up and ask her what those things were. At first, this woman had a very hard time with it. Over time, it became easier. There was even a time when my companion forgot to give her a call. When we called the next day, this woman said, “You forgot to call me. This is what I’m thankful for.” Although her hardships remained, she began to see a bit of light in her life, and I even saw her take some steps to get her out of the troubles she was in.

In contrast, I saw another woman in a different area who was so focused on all the hardships she’d faced during the revolution and the events that followed that she couldn’t progress at that time. Having hope allows us to progress because we know what we’re working towards and we know that we can make it there.

As we strive to live in accordance with the gospel we radiate the hope and love that can only come through the gospel. One woman I taught who was a faithful Christian of another denomination, once told me and my companion that she could tell that we were followers of Christ because our faces shone. This same woman offered us a room in her home so that we could save money on rent. I would say that her light also shone.

There was a period of my mission when I was in the country of Moldova, which is a small country sandwiched in between Romania and Ukraine. Both Romanian and Russian are widely used there. Because of that fact, church was sometimes in Russian, sometimes in Romanian, and sometimes half and half. Some of the members knew both languages or even some English. However, there were some that only spoke Russian. I wished that I could communicate with them, but the only Russian I had figured out was pretty much “spaciba” “pa jausta” and “das vadanya,” meaning please, thank you, and goodbye (you should know that those aren't spelled correctly, but are just in a format where I could remember how to say them). But a wonderful thing happened. We began to communicate very simply through smiles and hand gestures. I was amazed at these women who would come up to me on any given Sunday, smile, and give my hand a squeeze. I could feel their love so strongly, and I was just so amazed at that love. When I left that area, one of these women struggled to put together a few Romanian words just so she could say goodbye to me. I will never forget these small but very significant acts of love.

In that same area, there was a woman who was physically disabled. Because of her disability she couldn’t always make it to church. She was also the only member in her family. We visited her once a week if we could arrange it, and I was always so pleased to see how happy she was and how strong her testimony was even though she couldn’t always attend church. Towards the end of my time there, we began to get very busy. I think it’s safe to say that it was the busiest time of my mission. We had said that we would get a hold of this sister to meet with her that week, but it hadn’t happened and the week was going quickly. We had one time open that we knew for sure that we could meet with her. It was the following morning. We didn’t like to set up appointments with so little time in advance, but I decided that we needed to at least call her, and if she couldn’t meet she would at least know that we hadn’t forgotten about her. I didn’t realize at that moment that the thought to make that call was a prompting. She was able to meet and we had a nice long visit with her. During that visit she told me how she had been hoping that we would come and visit. She longed for that, but she didn’t want to call us because she knew we were busy and she didn’t want to bother us. I was so incredibly grateful that I had made that call. Not only that, I was able to see a great act of faith in this woman.

Part of the hardship of going to church was that our building had stairs. She could make it into the room we used for sacrament meeting, but to attend her other meetings, she would have to go up a flight of stairs. She told me, I think in that same visit, that she had begun doing exercises to strengthen her arms so that she would be able to make it up the stairs using her crutches. She hoped she would be able to make it to church the following Sunday. I prayed for her the remainder of the week, hoping that she would be given the strength to fulfill her righteous desire of coming to church. I was so happy that Sunday when I saw her walk in, and she stayed for all three meetings, slowly but surely making her way up and down the stairs.

From these women I learned that we can become more aware of the love of our Heavenly Father as we associate with other followers of Christ, and as we strive to serve others. I also learned that exercising the faith and hope that we have through Christ gives us strength, allowing us to overcome our trials, physical as well as spiritual. And one other thing is that fact that often times Heavenly Father blesses His children and demonstrates His love for them by using other people around them.

Christ once told His disciples, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Christ knows everything that we have felt and must endure. We can find peace through Him and His atonement. One of the things that was a strength to me in times of struggle on my mission was to imagine my savior beside me, holding my hand. Just as He has been a strength to me, I know that He can and will be a strength for each of us if we allow Him to help us. If we continue to build our faith and trust in Him we will be able to maintain that sense of hope. We will be lifted out of the darkness of our trails into the light of His love. Our lives will become a reflection of that faith and hope, and just as I could feel the love of those Russian women, those around you will feel of your love and will be brought closer to the love of our Savior and our Father in Heaven.

In closing, I’d like to share my testimony with you in Romanian. I know you won’t be able to understand what I say, but I hope that you will be able to feel the spirit.

And I did share my testimony in Romanian! You won't be able to know what it sounds like, but just so you can see what it looks like (without the added symbols because I'm not sure how to add those at present...) I'll give you a written one. Hopefully when you go to stick it into google translate out of curiosity it won't be too far off!

Stiu ca Tatal Ceresc intr-adevar este tatal nostru si ca ne iubeste atat de mult. El are un plan perfect pentru fiecare dintre noi. Viata nu e usoara, dar nu suntem singuri. Putem avea tarie prin ispisirea lui Isus Hristos. Prin El putem fim vindecati si putem sa fim cu El, Tatal nostru, si cu iubitorii nostri pentru intotdeauna. Stiu ca aceast biserica este adevarata. Fiecare dintre noi putem sa stim asta. Trebuie doar sa-L cerem.

In numele lui Isus Hristos, amin.

In Conclusion

I don't even know where to begin. How can I adequately sum up not only this last week, but the last year and a half of my life? I've had some mixed emotions this week. Someone asked me what I'm looking forward to most about going home and what I'm going to miss most about Romania. I told them that the answer is the same for both: the people. How wonderfully blessed I am for all those I've had the chance to meet and serve and to love throughout my life. I feel like I can't fully express to you the fondness I feel for my mission. I'm so grateful that the Lord called me to come here to serve the people in Romania and Moldova. 

Let me tell you a little more about this week. We had a wonderful experience with the Radulescu family (the branch president and his wife). We've been meaning to help them get started with family history for a long time. The elders talked to them a little about it and then we went to help them set things up on the church's website, familysearch.org. I forgot that the site doesn't have a Romanian option, but the Radulescus know a bit of English, and I was able to point and translate the most important aspects for them to get started. I helped them add their parents to their family tree and how to prepare those names for the temple. I could feel the spirit and a sense of excitement as I guided them through it. I kept thinking about my own family lines and how I can't wait to continue my research when I return home. Not only that, I thought of all the lives of those on the other side who will be greatly affected by the Radulescus starting their family history. It was such a great feeling. Sora Parr was sitting on the couch while I was with the Radulescus at the computer, explaining everything. When we left, she told me how strongly she felt the spirit and how amazing it was. She said she had never really had a testimony of familysearch and family history work until that moment. The next day we went over to their home again for a meeting. Before we started, Sora Radulescu pulled me over to the computer and asked me a few more questions and added a few more names with me there. She turned to me at one point, smiled, and said, "Imi place," meaning, "I like this." It made me SO happy! Seriously, that experience was one of my biggest blessings of the week.

We were able to meet with Daniela again. She is so great! I love that she isn't afraid to ask questions or voice her concerns and she's willing to listen despite our flawed language. We had a good lesson. We talked to her a little more about baptism and invited her to be baptized. Sora Parr was so great and expressed to her how wonderful she is and how we feel that she is already a member whenever we are around her. She told us some of her hesitations and concerns. We were able to address those. She then said that she didn't want to commit to a date at that time as she felt like she wasn't in the right spirit of things at the moment and she wants to make that decision when she's in the right mindset. She's continuing to progress and learn, and she noticed that she hasn't had as much of the spirit in her life since we haven't been able to meet lately, and she hasn't been able to read from the Book of Mormon. She has such a desire to learn, and I'm so glad I've been able to work with her.

And now for some final words. There is so much I could say as there is so much that I have learned and relearned. First of all, I want to express some gratitude. I am so incredibly grateful for all the missionaries I've worked with in the past year and a half. I'm so grateful for all the members here. They are incredible! They are truly inspirational. And of course I want to thank my Heavenly Father, my Savior, and my family, all of which are an incredible strength in my life.

Secondly, I would just like to share my testimony with all of you. I know that we have a Heavenly Father, and that He truly sent a savior, Jesus Christ, to atone for the sins of the world. He is our example, and if we will follow Him, He will lead us to eternal life where we will be with Him and our Father. We are loved more than we can comprehend. They have a plan of happiness for us. Trials and imperfections are part of the things we must endure and overcome so that we may learn, grow, and become as they are. No matter the hardship we may be facing, they will be right there to strengthen us and bring peace to our souls. Heavenly Father knows us perfectly, and He will guide and help us according to each of our individual circumstances. I know that the Lord is hastening His work and that you can be a part of it simply by being who you are! Let your light shine! Share the love of the Savior through your words and deeds. Serve others. Your life will be filled with happiness and love as you do so. Counsel with the Lord in all things, and He will direct your paths. Maintain an attitude of gratitude, and keep a record of all the wonderful things that the Lord blesses you with, both great and small. You are children of a loving Heavenly Father. Never forget that! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is Christ's restored church on the earth today. I know that you can know that for yourself if you will do as many others have done: ask. Pray to our Father in Heaven, and He will answer you.

Thank you all for your love and support. You are amazing! See you soon :)

Love,

Sora Adams

promised Blessings

The strangest feeling is coming over me. I go home next week. What? It doesn't seem like it. There's no way a year and a half has really gone by. People keep asking me if I'm freaking out, but I'm honestly not because it feels just like any other week. I probably won't be feeling that way when I head down to Bucuresti. Ask me then.

For the past couple of weeks we started holding a family home evening activity. We were already having activities on Fridays, but I suggested that we also have an activity on Tuesday nights after English so encourage some of our English students to come. We've done that a couple of times now and I'm happy to report that each time we've had English students stay! We have a little spiritual thought and then have some sort of activity and sometimes treats. This week we played probably the most fun game of sign I have ever played in my life. It was hilarious! I don't even know how to describe it. It was frenzied and confusing and just hilarious.

We had a lesson with an English student named Camelia. She is so sweet! She actually helped us go English contacting at the beginning of the transfer. The lesson started off a little awkwardly because we'd had a miscommunication. She thought we wanted to see her to say goodbye since I'll be leaving soon. She didn't realize we wanted to have a lesson with her. When we realized the mistake, we kind of sat there awkwardly for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. Thankfully, Camelia is super sweet and said, "Go on. Say what you wanted to say." So we were still able to talk to her a little bit about the restoration. We also gave her a Book of Mormon which had written little messages in just for her. 

At some point during the week, I was reading notes from the blessings I received as I was leaving on my mission and reflected on my mission as a whole. As I looked at the promised blessings contained therein, I tried to think of moments where I had seen those promises fulfilled in my mission. As I was pondering this, I came to a realization: sometimes the answers to our prayers or the fulfillment of promises from the Lord sometimes go unnoticed and one of the reasons for that is because they manifest themselves in ways differently than what we expect and even perhaps than what we want. Some of the blessings I was promised I thought I would see in a different way. As I was looking back, I can see how those blessings were fulfilled in some way or another. They weren't always how I expected, but they were definitely there. I can promise you that the Lord does in fact hear and answer your prayers, and He always keeps His promises. He will strengthen you and shape you into the person that you are capable of becoming if you allow Him to do so. He loves you. I can't stress that enough. We aren't perfect, but we are loved by our Father in Heaven and His son. If we follow in the path of our Savior, we will see those promised blessings in our lives, and He will guide us back to our Father. With His help, we can be with those we love forever in a state of never ending happiness.

Have faith and hope in the future because no matter what happens you have a savior who overcame all things and will always be there to lift you up when you fall.

See you soon :)

Sora Adams

Hello Again!

Hello everyone.

For our advanced English class we like to have some sort of question to get them talking and then we play a game. In our last question I asked, "If you knew that you were going to die soon, what is the last thing that you would want to tell those that you love?" I thought one answer a student gave was interesting. She thought the question was strange and then proceeded to tell us that you shouldn't be waiting until the last moments of your life for that sort of thing. She said you can't fix things in just one final day. The things you would want people to know should be obvious because you should have already expressed it to them through your life and through words as you lived your life. I thought that was interesting and a good point. Never hesitate to let those you know you love them, to give someone a helping hand, or to lift someone's spirit. You don't know what day will be your last or if you'll get a chance to impart some final words of wisdom. Let people know what you would want the to know through the way you live and the things that you say.

We met with Daniela again this week. I can't think of specifics to say except to brag about her some more because I think she's great. She's been keeping her commitments, reading in the scriptures, praying, and coming to church. She really hopes to gain a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel, and she's taking the necessary steps to do that. It was great being able to talk with her about how we receive answers to prayers and to share some of our own experiences.

We met with someone new this week named Sylvia. She's the mother of the branch president in Constanta, and she's not a member. She's incredible though! She fed us probably enough food for three days, and she was super sweet! The last missionaries who visited her made such a good impression that she had a friend over when we came so that she could meet us. Both women were super sweet and so faithful! It made me so happy to listen to them and see how they have so much hope and happiness in life because of their faith and trust in God. We agreed on so many things and it was nice to visit and to be edified by each other.

Yesterday, I gave a talk in church about gratitude. It's something that I have such a huge testimony of especially after some of the experiences I've had here. First of all, I'm finding that so many principles are connected. If you have one than you will have another and then another. (For example, faith, hope, and charity as Moroni talks about in the Book of Mormon). Gratitude is one of those things. When you have an attitude of gratitude you are happier. I can guarantee it. You recognize the hand of the Lord in your life. You realize there is still good in your life regardless of the circumstances. It fills you with hope, hope that you can make it through your trials and hope that you have a bright future ahead of you. You will be filled with love as you recognize that the Lord is always with you. You will be filled with greater faith, and it will be easier to take steps into the future no matter how uncertain it may be. I would encourage you to develop an attitude of gratitude. Make lists of what you're grateful for. I like to write three things in my journal every night for which I am thankful that day. Remember to thank the Lord everyday for all that He has given you. I promise you that you can find something in everyday to be grateful for. The Lord loves you and He will help you to recognize that He is a part of your life. Just look for the blessings, and you will find them.

I'm grateful for you :)

Sora Adams

You Are Loved

We had some cool things happen this week. I had my final zone conference where I finally got to me our new mission president. I really like him and his wife. They are really cool and have some good ideas. They gave us each some workout flash cards put together by their personal trainer. I've been using those for the past few days. I approve. I really enjoyed speaking with Sora Ivory for the brief interview I had with her. Upon hearing that I'm in my final transfer, she asked me about my thoughts on my mission as a whole.

 I told her how grateful I am for the whole experience. I'm so glad I came. It hasn't always been easy.

 There have been some trials that I never imagined I'd face, but even with those hard times I am so thankful because I have seen the hand of the Lord through it all. He has been my strength constantly! Not only that, I feel so blessed to have met all the people I've met. I've been so touched by their love, and there have been times where I have thought, "Why do you love me so much? I haven't even done anything." And yet there they were, blessing my life, and I'm so glad I've been able to be a part of their lives as well.

The STLs came to Craiova with us after conference so that we could do an exchange. I really enjoyed spending the day with Sora Hebdon. We did a lot of reflection of things we have learned on the mission. It's really cool to see how much we've grown and how the Lord has helped us overcome so much. 

Other than that, we've been doing contacting. We met with Daniela on Friday to prepare our Sunday school lesson. She stayed for our activity afterwards which was so fun. We played mafia. Daniela came to church yesterday as well. We were so excited to finally introduce her to the branch president's wife. What was even better was that they hit it off! That was our little miracle of the week. We know that the branch president's wife will be such a strength to Daniela. We'll be meeting with her again sometime this week. She's so fun, and seems to be doing well. 

Something that stood out to me this week was the chorus to a song that came on while I was exercising. It's a song by Mercy River. The chorus is meant to be from the viewpoint of our Heavenly Father. It goes like this:

Has anybody told you you're beautiful? You might agree if you could see what I see. Because everything about you is incredible. You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful for me.

I don't know why, but in that moment it hit me so hard. Each one of us truly is a beloved son or daughter of Heavenly Father. He sees past all our flaws and imperfections and loves us unconditionally. To Him we are beautiful because we are His children. If we remember who we are and who everyone is around us, I know that we will be filled so much more with His love. We will want to serve others more freely because we will feel His love for them too. Don't ever forget that you are loved and that you have someone to turn to always.

Have a wonderful 

week!

Sora Adams

Fun Times in Craiova

What happened this week? I don't even know.

It's been really hot, but that hasn't stopped us from English contacting like crazy. Sora Parr and I have still been having advanced English classes. Hopefully class our class gets even bigger starting tomorrow. Our class on Tuesday was one of the best classes I've had. It was so hilarious! We played that game where you take turns telling one sentence of a story at a time and create crazy stories. They turned out so weird, but hilarious. We told stories of bears who went to the moon, lion cubs who climbed a magic beanstalk and found flying pigs, and a happy strawberry that was eaten by a seahorse that then gained magical powers. Maybe you just had to be there, but it was so much fun! Tuesday was also Canada day! One of Elders is Canadian so we celebrated with shoarma and cookies.

We had a lesson this week with Daniela. She's had many of the lessons already, and she's so great. I've only met with her once (and she came to church yesterday!), but I seriously feel like she's already a member. She helps us with our Romanian, which is nice. She's going to help us with our Sunday school lesson for Sunday. Basically she seems really sweet, and I'm excited to keep working with her.

I feel like this week was just full of tons of little spiritual touches or just really fun moments--moments I'm grateful for. For example:

- Sora Parr makes homemade bread. It's a little taste of heaven everytime.

- We got caught in a huge rain storm without umbrellas. I just laughed to myself as I saw everyone taking cover and then there were these two crazy sister missionaries just walking through the pouring rain like it was no big deal.

- For Independence day we played four square and decorated sugar cookies for a branch activity. And then someone randomly lit off fireworks pretty close to our apartment building so we still got our fireworks!

-We met with the branch president and his wife to talk about investigators, and they are so great! They have so much hope for the future of the branch and want to be involved in the work.

-Our English class on Saturday turned into a discussion about who we are as missionaries and the process of us coming out here to Romania.

-One English student who came to our activity and who has helped us with English contacting and has come to church before didn't realize that church was every Sunday. Now she knows! And hopefully she'll come again! We invited her yesterday, but she didn't come. 

Something that was kind of cool this week was one night when Sora Parr and I were heading
 home for the evening. We would have made it home and had an extra half hour to spare. I thought we could still just head home and find something that needed to be done with that extra time, but instead I suggested to Sora Parr that we English contact for that extra time. She agreed and as we did so we had some of the sweetest contacts. We were greeted with warm smiles and people telling us how they really want to come. We would have missed those people had we continued on our way home. I have no doubt that we were prompted to continue our work outside. 

I am just so grateful for the gift of the spirit in my life. I have seen it working so much in me this week. Through the spirit, I can be happy, optimistic, and full of love and peace no matter what my circumstances may be. Heavenly Father helps me to achieve my goals and to overcome my trials as I come unto Him in prayer. I see that all the time. I'm always so amazed at how willing He is to help me. I know that this is the Lord's work, that He wants all of His children to return to Him. One way that He accomplishes His work is through us! We can be those angels that lift the weary hearts and help lead them to our Savior.

On Wednesday I will have my final zone conference, and I will finally be able to meet our new mission president and his wife. They both sound really great from what I've heard. It will be good to finally see them in person.

I hope you all had a great Independence Day. Thank you for all of your love and support.

Va iubesc!

Sora Adams

Happy

My first view of my new assignment:

I made a new friend this week. His name was cockroach. Alas, he perished after only a few moments of us knowing each other. I have begun taking necessary steps to prevent meeting new friends of that sort. Cockroach will be missed by all his friends and family, but he's in a better place now.

In other news, I'm in Craiova now! Craiova is the sixth largest city in Romania. Even so, the branch here is really small, but I like them. I also really like my district. There are just four of us missionaries here in this city and one of the elders goes home at the same time I do. We're having some good fun together. We shared cookies and rolls with them. They shared chocolate cake with us. Yeah. I think we'll get along. Also, my companion is Sora Parr. She's in her fourth transfer, and she's so great!

It seems that we have a solid group of English students, which I'm excited about. We are teaching advanced, and we met with them on Saturday. We played a game played telephone pictionary (if you don't know what that is you should find out!), and then just talked with them a little bit. Sora Parr shared a thought about being positive, optimistic, and happy. One of our students, Raluca, made a comment that was something like, "But how can you be happy all the time? For instance, what if you get caught in the pouring rain and you get soaked?" I immediately thought of an instance where that very thing happened on my mission. It was back in my third transfer. Rain came out of nowhere, buckets of it, and our umbrellas were rendered useless by the sudden winds. I told Raluca this story and she asked, "And you were happy?" I truthfully answered, "Yes." That night is probably one of my favorite nights of my entire mission actually. During that moment and all the crazy things that happened after that moment, all my companion and I could do was laugh, and laugh, and laugh. So yes, it is quite possible to be very happy even when you are being drenched with rain.

The other day, I was thinking about that moment during personal study. I had shared with Raluca some things that help me to stay optimistic, but as I was sitting there, I realized the biggest thing that helps me to be happy in this life: the gospel. Pure and simple. I have so much hope and peace in life because of the things I know through the gospel. I have hope because I know I have a loving Heavenly Father. 

Knowing that I am His child, I can have faith and confidence that He didn't send me to fail, that He loves me, and that He wants me to return to be with Him. He wants us to be happy. Furthermore, I can have peace even when the world is in turmoil because there is one who spoke unto His disciples, "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." Because of the Savior's sacrifice, we too can overcome all that we are faced with. He will help us. Because of the gospel I know that this life is not the end. I know that our lives have purpose and that we are guided in life. The gospel is my greatest joy and my greatest strength.

I'm so grateful to be here at this time. I'm so grateful for all the people I've met. I'm so so so very grateful that the Lord guided me here, that He trusts me and guides me to help those around me. I'm know He answers my prayers, and He has helped me so much!

Thank you for all of your love and support!

Love,

Sora Adams

(This is at last transfer. President and Sister Hill are going home. )

The Final Countdown

What's this? Sora Adams is about to start her final transfer? How in the world did that happen? And where will she be spending it you may ask. I'll tell you. I'm going to Craiova with Sora Parr. (Picture of museum there above)    I'm said to leave Chisinau as it's seriously exploding with potential, but I'm excited for one more adventure in the form of six weeks in Craiova.
 
 ( If you want to know more here's a link: http://romaniatourism.com/craiova.html)

Speaking of all that potential, I don't even know where to start or if I'll even have enough time to tell you everything that has been happening. I'll give you some highlights.

 (Pictures not in order as mom has no clue)

The elders' investigater, Vadim, was baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday. What a great experience! I love feeling the spirit as I watch these people make such an important step in their lives. Our investigater, Victoria, was there,and I'm so glad she came! It was so clear to me that she was feeling the spirit. She had such a huge smile on her face, and she gave me the biggest hug! She's amazing. I have to tell you more about her.

She's progressing so much! This week she told us that she wants to be baptized. She isn't ready to set a date yet, but she's working toward that goal. We are so happy! She is so knowledgeable and has such a great testimony of our Heavenly Father. After the baptism, she stayed after even after we had left. We were pleased with this also because it's becoming evident to us that she's making connections with members and not just with us. This is so important because we won't always be here. We want people to join the church because they've received a testimony of it not just because they love the missionaries. Anyway, Victoria has so much love, and she's been feeling the spirit testify to her of the truthfullness of the things we teach her. I am so glad that I have been able to know her.

Someone else the elders have started working with is a woman around my age named Valeria. I've had the opportunity to talk with her a lot. She is so sweet, and I have never met anyone so prepared in my life! She came to church yesterday. She wasn't planning on it, but when she got up that morning she felt like she needed to go. She was touched in every single meeting. She felt like every part had something she needed. She was so glad she came. Even though she's only been coming to things for a couple of weeks, she knows the church is true and wants to be baptized. She can feel it. The feeling she gets when she comes is exactly what she felt like was missing when she went to other churches. She knows she has to learn a little bit more first, but then she will baptized. She also wants to bring her parents to church. She is so incredible and so prepared!

We also had an incredible member visit yesterday. We met with Sora Lilia who told us about how she found church and about her battle with cancer. It was so inspiring! Lilia's daughter was the first person to be baptized in Moldova. (They're even mentioned in the Liahona https://www.lds.org/liahona/2004/07/a-message-from-moldova?lang=eng&query=moldova) She told us about how she was diagnosed with cancer andit was in advanced stages. She didn't know how she was going to get treatment. Long story short, she was so blessed, received treatment, and survived! She told us that one of the greatest things she learned from the experience (and something we should all remember) is that every day is a gift. She is so grateful for her life because it was saved, and she recognizes just how blessed she was with the whole thing.

I feel like what little I have told you doesn't do any of the recent events justice. I am so grateful for all the people I've met here in Chisinau and for all the truly amazing experiences. I think perhaps you would have to experience them for yourself to understand how truly joyous and amazing all these things are. I hope I've given you at least some idea.

I know that this is the work of the Lord. I know that He prepares people to accept the gospel. I know that Heavenly Father loves all of His children. That's why this work is so important! Missionary work truly is the work of salvation. And there are many different ways of doing missionary work. I honestly used to think I wasn't capable of doing missionary work. However, as I've said many times, those small and simple things really do matter! Reach out in love to those around you and they will feel the love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior through you. 

Remember, everyday is a blessing! Look for the hand of the Lord in your life and you will find it. Pray to Him daily and often and you will begin to more easily recognize His responses. 

With much love,

Sora Adams

Busy Busy Busy!!

We have been really busy lately, so busy sometimes that we're not sure what to do with ourselves or how to fit everything in, but that's a huge blessing! Seriously, I'm grateful for it. 

Our Wednesday was full of lessons with Elder Schwartz and his English students again. One of the students, Tatiana, is so amazing. Well, they're all amazing. She's just the first one we met with that day, so she's the first one I'll talk about. Once she sat down and was settled, Elder Schwartz asked her what she knew about us and our purpose as missionaries. She said that she knew that we believed in a life after this one and that we can be with our loved ones for eternity. This was a foreign concept to her, but she said she really wants to believe it. At the moment she can't quite grasp it, but she has that desire. We were able to talk to her a bit about the restoration and the plan of salvation. She's a really kind and smart woman. She accepted a pamphlet on the plan of salvation, and she seems willing to learn more.

There was a misunderstanding with scheduling and the next two lessons came at the same time. Elder Schwartz took one and had the elders sit in while Sora Cox and I met with Anna again. She is so sweet. I think I mentioned how she knows a good handful of languages. She's so cute because different words from other languages will come out and she has to correct herself. Basically she's just super sweet! We introduced her to the Book of Mormon and gave her her own copy. We were also able to meet with her again with the elders and teach her a little about family history.

While we were at church, a less active who I've only met once randomly showed up and asked if we could meet with her. Once all our other lessons were done, we were able to meet with her for a little bit. We got to know her and she told us her conversion story. She's had a lot of struggles that I can't even imagine having to deal with, but she has a really good attitude, and said that she wants to start coming back to church. We have another appointment set up with her tomorrow.

After that busy day, the Schwartz's were kind enough to have us over for dinner. That was amazing, and they are amazing. That's all I have to say about that.

On Friday, we were able to meet with Sora Berdeu, and I'm so glad we did! We'd intended on visiting her, but we'd been so busy that we hadn't even had time to sit down and make many calls to set up more appointments where we could squeeze them in. I really wanted to see Sora Berdeu, so I called her as we walked home from a lesson on Thursday to ask her if we could meet the next morning. Usually we like to give people more notice than that, but it just worked out that way. She said we could come over. It was great to visit with her. We shared a little message and talked for a long while. She then wanted to show us some pictures she had from recent activities and some old ones of the branch. She showed us many pictures of baptisms from a good number of years ago. She pointed out the missionaries who taught her. It was so great to have her share that with us. She wants to make a scrapbook for the branch. I think one thing that meant the most to me is when she told us that she was so glad that we came over. She had been thinking about us all week and wanted us to come over, but she didn't want to call or bother us because she knows we are busy. How grateful I was in that moment that I had given her that call! I have no doubt that we were inspired to make time for her. She has a really strong testimony  even though she can't make it to church often, and I think sometimes she misses that association with people. She's good friends with another member who comes to visit her often, for which I am grateful. Oh, I remember the thing that touched me the most. Her biggest struggle with coming to church is physical. She walks with the help of crutches and it's a slow, laborious process. Our building has stairs and sunday school and relief society take place on the second floor. It's a real trial for her to try and go up those stairs, but she really wants to come to church. She told me that she has started doing some excercises to build up her strength so that she can make it up those stairs and come to church. I was so touched by her faith! We're keeping her in our prayers, and we know that they Lord will help her with such a righteous desire.

We've had a bunch of other fun activities too: kareoke night, two firesides, English classes. Basically, we're keeping busy and loving it! 

Oh also, there are these two girls that have started coming to everything, Lia and Lera. They are sweethearts! They are making connections with some of the other youth. They came to church yesterday and stayed for all three hours! They accepted copies of the Book of Mormon afterwards. We're hoping that they will be open to receiving lessons soon. 

We also had a lesson with Victoria this week that went so well! We taught her the plan of salvation. We had Sora Schwartz and Sevghi there with us and they were a huge blessing. They helped answer some questions or fill in a couple of holes. I was so grateful to Sora Schwartz who had the perfect answer to a question Victoria had about Adam and Eve that helped clear things up. We didn't know how to answer it, so basically she was a little miracle for us. We asked Victoria what she thought about it all, and she said that she thinks it could be true. She didn't know how to explain it exactly, but she just said that it just made her so happy as she learned about it and thought about it. Sora Schwarz explained to her that what she was feeling was the spirit testifying to her of the truthfulness of it. Again, especially since both of them are converts, it was great to have Sora Schwartz and Sevghi there. The spirit was definitely present. Victoria is progressing, and it's so exciting for us to see. I have loved getting to know her.

Last, but certainly not least, we're having another baptism in the branch this weekend! Return next week for details. His name is Vadim, and he's so great!

Have a great week! Remember how much you are loved by our Heavenly Father and our Savior. I was reminded again this week just how much that they are a part of my life. They hear your prayers. They know your desires and dreams and they will help you to reach them. They have been such a strength to me this week. I have felt of their love and encouragement. I know that I'm not alone in life, and neither are you.

Love,

Sora Adams