New Companions

This week we were able to help an older gentleman in his garden on two occasions. His name is Mihai and he's an investigator. Sora Lund and I went out there with our branch president and got to work. There were a lot of weeds around his plants, and the ground was all dried up and hard, so we got to attack the ground with hoes for a couple hours both days. Even though we were dying in the sun and had the hardest time telling the difference at time between long grass and the garlic that was hidden among it, it was a lot of fun. There was a lot of laughter going on between Sora Lund and I, so much that our branch president kept looking over at us to figure out what was so funny. Pretty much, we just like to be happy and laughing when we work. One of the best moments was when our branch president came over and took a picture of us working. He then said, "Never in my life did I think I would see two American girls working in an old man's garden in Romania. I have to take a picture or my mother won't believe me." We discovered yesterday that he actually did share those pictures with family. Apparently it's quite the sight.

                                                             (This is the garden we worked in)

I did something new this week. I sung in the park as a means of contacting. We were trying to advertise our English classes which start tomorrow so we were singing songs in English and handing out little English cards with information about our classes. We made signs that said "Want to understand what we're singing? Come to English!" And then we had the times written down. We had some good contacts that way. I also discovered that it's more awkward than it was in my head! Sora Lund put it well when she essentially said that she's come to find that most of missionary work includes awkward situations, but that's okay. Just embrace it and move forward. My lesson for the week--embrace the awkward.

We gained a new investigator this week. She was a referral. We were only able to meet with her once last week, but she came to church yesterday, and we're working on setting up a time to meet with her again. She really seems interested and has a copy of the Book of Mormon, so hopefully things will continue to progress. Also, did I mention we taught someone the stop smoking program last week? As of yesterday she hasn't smoked for three days! We'll be meeting with her again on Wednesday.

Yesterday, the second counselor in the mission presidency and his wife spoke in sacrament meeting. The counselor, Elder Henniger, said something that stuck out to me, mostly because it's something I'd been thinking about for a good portion of the week. Essentially the thought was this, "We become who we think we are," or "A man is as he thinketh," or to quote the Iron Giant, "You are who you choose to be." We've been told more than once that thoughts lead to actions. If we are constantly beating ourselves up in our minds or continually tell ourselves that we can't do something, it becomes true because we believe it. Remember that you are a child of God, that He has provided a way for you to return to Him and be with Him forever, that we can be forgiven of our sins. All this is true. Write those truths on your hearts and become the person He knows you can be. We do not change instantaneously. Change takes time, but Heavenly Father will mold us. Seek His guidance. He will never lead you astray.

Have a great week.

Sora Adams

                                                                       (Our lost sole was found!! ;-)    )

Festival

                                                         (Another "Lost Sole"?)  Ooo that was bad- That was Mom's joke!



Greetings from Sibiu! It is so beautiful here! The branch is great and very welcoming. Also, I am now serving with Sora Lund who is amazing. I love her already. Plus it helps that's she's just as much as a nerd as I am. 

Last week, I had to say goodbye to Timisoara and some pretty awesome people. On Tuesday night right before we were getting ready to leave, I got a call from a former investigator who still comes to a bunch of activities and such, she just doesn't take lessons. She wasn't able to come to FHE that night so she called so she could have a chance to say goodbye to me. I wasn't expecting it, and as I thought on it later I thought how sweet it was and how grateful I am for the time I had in Timisoara. It also occurred to me how small things really make a big difference. I think that many times we think that we don't do much at all or that we don't have an influence on people. Saying those goodbyes showed me that we aren't always aware of our impact. Those people definitely had an impact on me. I hope I had a positive impact on them. I can't think of the right words to express all the thoughts I had, but I'm learning that it really is through small and simple things that great things are brought to pass and the Lord uses weak things to perform great things. He can make us strong in our weakness. For that I am extremely grateful.

I can't remember if I've talked about this already. Hopefully not. Anyway, something else I've been thinking about is how Heavenly Father helps us to overcome those weakness and to achieve our goals. Heavenly Father knows the desires of our hearts. He wants to help us succeed, to become more like Him, and to return to Him. As we come to Him with our goals and concerns, He will help us to reach those goals. We need to strive to hear those promptings of the spirit. They are so easy to miss at times. But those quiet whisperings in your mind and heart is how He will guide you to become more of the person you want to be, the person He knows you can become. Change takes time. In general, we're not always patient people with others or with ourselves. Heavenly Father helps us change step by step Not all at once. 

Remember that with Heavenly Father and our Savior, you can conquer any trial, overcome any weakness. We don't have to go through life alone. They want to help us, and I have every confidence that with them and through the infinite sacrifice of our Savior we can live with them again with our families and have eternal happiness. When times are hard, remember to turn to your Father in Heaven. He will be your strength. Press forward. Keep the end goal in sight.

I hope you all have a great week!

Sora Adams

PS: They had a festival going on this week.  Look!  Pipers!!  The acrobats and everything were fun!

Hello friends and family!

Here are some things I thought of this week:

A thought I heard in a Mormon Message that comes from President Eyring: "Family teaches us how to love as He loves." I thought that was awesome. Families truly are a blessing from our Father in Heaven. The older I get, the more I'm convinced that families help us learn of Him and how to become like him.

There's a woman in our branch who has had cancer for pretty much her entire life. She was having a rough time this past week. We went to visit her, and we sang for her, which I think she enjoyed. She was having a hard time that day so we asked her if she would like a blessing. She responded in the affirmative, so we called the elders. When they came and they began to give her a blessing, the spirit entered the room so strongly. I don't feel like I can adequately describe it, but it was a huge testimony to me of the power and blessing of the priesthood. I'm so grateful that power and for the worthy priesthood holders in my life. It truly is a gift and power from God. I've seen it do miracles, and I am extremely grateful.

At another point in the week, I had the random thought come to mind of how we are never alone. Even when we are in far away places or away from family and friends, no matter the circumstances we always have our Heavenly Father and Savior with us. What a comforting knowledge that is. They are aware of us. They love us. I was talking to Sora Heim and I told her, "I know I say it all the time, but it's true. Without Christ we can't have Eternal Life. Without Christ, we can't be with our families forever. Without Christ, we cannot be forgiven of our sins." It really is true. He lives. He paid the price for us and paved the way to eternal happiness. Both our Heavenly Father and Savior want to be a part of our lives. We have to allow them to be.

We've started to have a Book of Mormon class after we teach English on Saturdays. People have been staying for that, so hopefully we can get some good contacts that way.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love,

Sora Adams

You Never Know

A little while ago, we contacted someone in a park. She was very nice, accepted a Book of Mormon, and gave us her phone number. We called her up this week, but she was unable to meet with us. We'll be calling her again within the next couple of days, and hopefully we can work out a time to meet with her. As Sora Heim was talking to her on the phone, a very clear thought entered my mind.

Even if every copy of the Book of Mormon you give out doesn't have a huge effect on the person who accepted it doesn't mean it won't have an impact on somebody they are connected with somewhere down the line.

Stories came to mind that I've heard of people who have discovered the gospel because they found a discarded Book of Mormon that had been given to a family member or friend or they possibly found it in a garbage can somewhere. Obviously, we don't want the copies of the Book of Mormon that we hand out to end up in garbage cans, but what the spirit was teaching me in that moment is that we don't always see the fruit of our labors. What may seem to be a dead end or an unsuccessful contact may actually be the means of some good at some point. We have no way of knowing for sure, but we go forward with faith, hoping that our message will touch even just one person.

Often we don't realize that positive impact we have on people. We may not think we have any influence at all, but as we strive to live the way that Heavenly Father would have us live and as we build our faith and confidence in him, we begin to change. There really is a light that comes from the gospel, and people can see the difference. Our example has a huge impact on people. Just look at all the examples in the scriptures of people who changed for the better because of the example of another. 

Don't sell yourself short. You are a strength to somebody. You can be a influence for good, and I believe all of you are.

Here are some awesome things that happened this week:

- I taught Rebeca and Andrea how to play Jenga.

- Sora Hunt's purse was stolen (which is not awesome) but was returned because it was taken by mistake (that part was awesome). Someone from English class thought it was their bag.

- I gave a talk yesterday in church and sang as part of it. One of the members liked it so much that he said the next time we visit them he's going to make me sing ha ha ha

- We showed a couple Mormon Messages to Rebeca and Andrea and they loved them. Those things are awesome. You should watch them.

I hope you are all have a great Memorial Day. Have a great week!

-Sora Adams

PS:  Danielle mentioned in her letter home that Rebeca was having pretty bad headaches.  As they were talking to here Danielle's companion, Sora Heim, told Rebeca that if she would study the scriptures her headache would go away.  The next time they saw Rebeca that is exactly what she told them, that as she put more effort into studying the scriptures she found she did not have any pain. Not sure if it was only when she was studying the scriptures or if it extended beyond that, but it is still a little miracle that was greatly appreciated by this young woman.

Sora Adams Reporting from Romania

I  feel like so much has happened this week, yet I don’t know what to talk about. Or maybe it’s just I don’t know where to begin!

How about the most exciting thing for me this week? We were having a lesson with Andrea and Rebeca this week. Before we went our separate ways, Andrea approached us and said she had a question. She asked us if we would be having church services on Sunday. When we answered in the affirmative, she said she we would like to come. That was the most perfect thing that could happen that day as that very morning in companionship study we had started to discuss how we could get her to come to church. We were concerned that her father wouldn’t approve of her coming. Sunday came, and she was there! And she liked it. And it was just awesome. I think back to when I first met her and how she is now. I feel like there’s a light growing inside of her, and I hope it continues to grow! Both she and Rebeca are so awesome.

I went on exchanges for the first time this week. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of that, but it went really well. We didn’t have any lessons for that day, so we went contacting. I learned some really good things from Sora Ewell who I was with that day. A cool story about Sora Ewell: when I was in the Salt Lake airport getting ready to fly to Romania, we were all trying to get some pay phones to call home. This man walks past us, stops, and asks us if we are going to Romania. He saw that our tags said “Sora” on them and he recognized that title because his daughter is in Romania. His daughter is Sora Ewell. It was so random, but really fun to meet him. Sora Ewell’s companion is Sora Deruvo who was in my district at the MTC. It was fun to see her again!

Yesterday, we went paint contacting. Sora Heim is very talented in that regard. She painted that illusion where you stare at it for 30 seconds and then close your eyes and you can see Jesus. We set that up in a park and had people look at it. Kids loved it! And it was a great conversation starter!

I hope you all know that Heavenly Father loves you. I feel like I say that all the time since that’s one thing I actually know how to say in Romanian! But it’s also true. Something I’ve learned (and I think maybe I’m re-learning) is that a testimony doesn’t have to be this big elaborote thing. You can share your testimony in a single sentence and it can have more power than anything else. Live in such a way that your testimony shines through you and the things you do. Often we don’t realize the light we are giving off, but it’s there. People can see a difference when you love your Heavenly Father and Savior and you’re doing all you can to follow them. You are all such wonderful people, and I’m grateful that you are a part of my life!

Have a great week!

Sora Adams

Gratitude

This week, I'm grateful for technology. It was so great being able to talk to my parents over skype yesterday. Also, the day ended with fireworks, so I'm pretty sure it was the best day ever.

This past week was very busy. We had interviews with our mission president on Tuesday, zone planning meeting on Wednesday, and then we got to take a trip to Bucharest to pick up my visa. Sora Heim and I compared our visa pictures. I told her she looks like an assassin. She told me a look emo. Pretty sure her picture is cooler. Ha ha. Usually we take a sleeper train when we go to Bucharest since it takes so long to get from  here to there, but we decided to come back on a day train so we good see the countryside. Great idea! It was so beautiful!  (Sharing pictures below)

 We had a couple good lessons this week, including one on the train. Apparently as we were boarding the train to go to Bucharest, we were followed by a murmur of "Mormons. Look, Mormons." This peeked one man's interest, and he came and spoke to us for a while. He asked us what we believed. We told him about the restoration and he accepted a Book of Mormon. I know we have badges to help point out who we are, but even when we aren't full time missionaries, we should strive to live in such a way that reflects who we are--children of a loving Heavenly Father and disciples of Christ. It's amazing what people notice and learn from you.

We visited some members from the branch this week. Sora Heim has been trying to help me talk more, so she gave me lead of the short lesson we gave them. We talked about prayer and why it's important. I shared D&C 10:5. I know that as we turn to Heavenly Father daily that we will have the strength to withstand Satan and overcome all temptations and trials. It was a good lesson. The spirit was there, and that's the most important thing.

I hope you are all doing well! I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here! Have a great week!

Love,

Sora Adams

Isus a inviat!!

Yesterday was Orthodox Easter, which is a bigger deal here than the Catholic one. It's been fun celebrating with people the last few days. I think everyday since Friday we've participated in egg tapping (I'm not sure how to spell what they call it, but that's a good explanation). In this tradition, each person takes an egg, one says "Isus a inviat," the other replies "Adavarat a inviat," and then they knock their eggs together. Whoever has the cracked egg loses. Traditionally, and most of the ones I've seen, the eggs are colored red as a symbol of the blood of Christ. We were talking to a girl from our English class and her mother about some traditions the other day. According to tradition, you knock eggs after midnight, so when it's officially Sunday, and then you eat a meal of lamb and such. Saturday night we were able to attend a midnight mass and take part in a candle lighting ceremony. We attended the ceremony with the Blaj family (Rebeca and her mother and sister, Nicoleta and Tabita).

We were able to have some good lessons this week. After lessons, one of the first things I do to evaluate how it went is to ask myself if I felt the spirit. Even though I can still only do things very simply where language is concerned, I try to follow that spirit. Even if I only get a couple sentences out in broken Romanian, if the spirit is there, the message will get through. On Saturday, we had a lesson with Iulia and her mother, Daniela. Those are the two I mentioned above. We had the Hunt's with us (the branch president and his wife who are also missionaries). It was cool to see how the spirit was working with us. The most evident thing was that we could all understand each other. Also I think when it comes to teaching, especially when you are teaching with someone else, that the spirit can prompt you when to speak and when to stay silent and let your companion speak. I've been wanting to talk more, so as we were having this lesson I kept thinking, "Sora Heim is doing all the talking. You should say something." But no words came. I didn't feel prompted to talk. But then, suddenly, the prompting came. It was just like, "Okay. Talk now." It was simple. It was short, but I said what I could and it all worked out. I'm grateful for the spirit. The Lord is definitely a part of this work.

There never seems to be enough time to say all that could be said, but I hope you are all doing well. Remember to turn to the Lord in all things and He will be your strength.

Until next week!

Sora Adams