Week Two!

Sometimes I think, "Wow, I've been here for two weeks!" and other times I think ""Wow. I've been here for only two weeks."  I swear, you have no concept of time at the MTC. For real, in my journal I have accidentally dated 4 different journal entries as  May 8th. I am still loving it though! I had some really awesome experiences this week. First of all, on Sunday, guess who taught us? Janice.Kapp.Parry. 

Okay, wow. We sang a medley of all her primary songs, and then she surprised us at the end with a brand new song of hers that hasn't been released yet. It's called "The Sisters of Zion" and it's to the same  tune as "As Sisters In Zion".  BUT the lyrics to this one were written specifically for sister missionaries, and we were the first to sing it! It was Incredible!   She's just such a great lady! Okay, and then on Monday, Sora Hebden and I taught a lesson to a volunteer. We just go in a room and talk to this person we've never met before, and then teach them a lesson. Sora Hebden and I thought it would be a good idea to go in with out a script and just try our best to teach a Romanian lesson on our own. it was a STRUGGLE  but we did it.  It took a while and I'm pretty sure our grammar was horrid.. but we got it done! 

My Romanian is definitely coming along. Reading Romanian is actually super easy for me. I can read almost anything from the Romanian Preach my Gospel and tell you what it says. Speaking though is definitely a little more difficult. 

Okay, one of my absolute favorite parts of the week though was the lesson we taught just yesterday. Sora Hebden and I taught our Romanian teacher (who was pretending to be an investigator) a lesson on the restoration. We went in again with no real script. We didn't even have much time to prepare one even we wanted one that day anyway. They just kind of sprung it on us.  But it went SO well. I've only felt the spirit that strong a few times in my life.  I wasn't even expecting it to happen. Usually I go into a lesson a little nervous. Even though it is just my teacher and I know it's okay if we mess up (which is good cause we mess up a lot!) And I was nervous at the beginning, but we started off, and I began explaining to our investigator about Joseph Smith and all of the sudden, I just felt complete and total peace. My words came easier and I had to hold back from crying. I didn't even think that could be possible in the MTC!  Okay, missionary work is awesome.

Okay, another eventful thing happened this week, that I 'm not entirely proud of. So, there is this container of wet wipes we use in the language computer lab that is used to wipe down the computers after we use them. Well I accidentally pulled out two wipes instead of one, and tried to push in the second wipe with my thumb, and my thumb got stuck... like... really stuck. So,  in my panic, I pushed the rest of my thumb through the lid hoping it would just at least hurt less. BAD IDEA. It was not coming off. Sora Hebden and I tried running it under water... that didn't work. My thumb went all white, and then purple. So, in shame, I walked my stuck, purple thumb to the front desk. They tried cutting it off.. nope. They tried Vaseline . nope.  It took one BYU police officer, an MTC secretary  my companion, and a set a eye glass screw drivers to pry it off! Okay, it's funny now but I was worried there for a few minutes!! All in all, I am grateful for my thumb:)

Oh! Aunt Jennie! I met Sister Hughes  (It was Sister Hughes, right?) She's so nice! She had the letter you wrote her in her hand when she found me.. AND OH MY GOSH SHE JUST CAME UP TO ME JUST AS I WROTE THAT. She says hi!!! and She loves you guys.

Sorry this email is all over the place! I am a little pressed for time today!

OH MY GOSH! Elder Nelson came and spoke to us yesterday! How could I forget?? It was great! he talked about how obedience brings blessings.  Thank you for everyone who's been writing me and sending me such nice packages and things! Thanks for all the treats Grandma Grandpa and Aunt Viv!! You all are so kind to me!!

I love you all and miss all of you!!!

xoxoxxoxoxox

Sora Ralls

Happy Mother's Day!!

Keri made this video for our awesome mom before she left for the MTC. Such a great Mother's Day gift!!

Week One!

Buna Familiea!!!

Oh my gosh. This is crazy. I'm writing one of those missionary emails. The time has come!!  The MTC is a great place to be. I really do enjoy being here, and I love visiting with other missionaries. Every time you open the door for someone, they tell you "Thank you" in a different language. I love it. My companion is awesome. Her name is Sora Hebden and she is from Pleasant Grove. She and I clicked instantly. We had two other roommates until yesterday. They left for Canada the other night, and they were so funny! They told us all the tricks of the MTC which was nice.  Our district is so great. There are two districts going to Romania here right now, and there are 12 of us total. Sora Hebden and I are the only sisters so we've been trying to adjust to the elder's sense of humor. We love them though:) One of them is from Australia and had all of us try his Vegemite for "initiation".  Okay, not so good.

I have seen SO many people I know here. It's insane! And they just keep coming! Today as Sora Hebden and i were walking out of the temple, we ran into my friend Suzy who reports today! She's going to Oklahoma. Seriously, Wednesdays are exciting days here. There's so much energy with all the new missionaries coming in! They walk around wide eyed and confused. That was me just a week ago! You get used to things here really quickly. By day 2, I felt pretty normal again. It really helps to have a companion who is experiencing pretty much the exact same thing. I actually had a far easier time adjusting then I anticipated. I don't really miss music, or Facebook. or even my phone like I thought I would. They just keep us so busy all the time here we don't have time to miss them! I also never, even for one day, had a problem waking up at 6:00 am.I'm always full of energy and ready to go. Um. Can you say Miracle?

The MTC also reminds me a lot of being at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It feels the same to me!! No wonder you two were called here!

The language is coming along. We've already taught our first lesson in Romanian to our "Investigator" Elena.  We pretty much figure out how to write a lesson in Romanian and then carry a script in with us and teach her in a class room. We usually just have to guess as to what questions she asks us at the end, and try and use whatever words we know to answer her.... We're pretty sure we get it right 10% of the time. haha :)  Two Elders in our district got back from there lesson and they held up a paper and said, "We couldn't understand Elena's question so we had her write it down. Can any one translate it for us?" Elena had written down "When Can I be baptized?" We all thought that was so funny... Except for those two elders!

Some days I feel like I'm getting the language so well, and some days it feels like I have no idea what my teachers are saying. I have to keep reminding myself it's only been a week! 

It's not always easy being at the MTC, but every time I have a really difficult day, small miracles happen. A few days ago, I was so frustrated the language. SO frustrated. And just felt like it was such a barrier and couldn't teach how I wanted to teach. Sora Hebden and I were studying in an empty classroom figuring out our lesson plans, and out nowhere, this sister from Tonga walked in our room and started talking to us about how wonderful a place the MTC is and how she sometimes has really hard times here, and struggles often. She told us about how grateful she was that she had those challenges though because she knows they are teaching her to be a better person.She talked to us a little longer, then she just left. It was a little odd, but an immediate and personal answer to my silent prayers. I am so thankful she did that. We still see her a lot around the MTC.

Fast Sundays here are INCREDIBLE. There's nothing like a testimony meeting with 50 missionaries. And we have incredible devotionals on Sunday and Tuesday nights!

This place really is incredible. I am so grateful to be a missionary. After being here just a couple days, I already feel like I want to go out and teach! I am so excited to get to Romania. Those 5 weeks will go by super fast though, I'm sure. I can't believe week 1 is already over!! They say the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days here. I've already found that to be true!!

Seriously, Overall, I am so HAPPY to be here And I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

Sora Ralls