January 28, 2014- "Frozen"

So, sorry this email is a day late. Yesterday we were here at the Internet cafe, and the power went out. It was funny actually. There are about 20 young boys who are always here playing some war game, and they were near devastated when their screens turned off. Luckily this first half of a letter was saved in a draft!!

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 Buna Buna!

The Eastern European winter I've been expecting finally came!! All at once! It Friday was a fairly warm day, and then it snowed all day Saturday, all day Sunday, and it's still snowing today! It's been crazy. None of the sidewalks get plowed, and we keep slipping everywhere. It's so beautiful here now though. This place was made for snow!

Because it's been so snowy, President sent a message to all the zone leaders, saying that we have permission to watch a movie today. Then President Hill suggested we watch Frozen. Ahhh I loveee iiitt.. So we just got back from the theater. It was packed today too because all the kids are out of school on snow day.

This week has been wonderful, and we've been able to get a lot done. We went out to Rotbov this week, a little town a few minutes past Feldioara and met with a part member family out there. 

We spent a couple days in Feldioara too with our investigators there. We got stranded because we missed our bus while we were trying to help the elders find an address. It's the moments like this though where I'm sitting at a bus stop in the middle of a strange, small Romanian town, eating a bag of chicken flavored chips when I realize how awesome my life is.

We committed our investigator Elena to live the Word of Wisdom this week, and she is doing SO well. Smoking and drinking haven't really been a problem for her but she drank coffee everyday. 

She was a little bit taken aback by what we were asking her to do when we brought it up,She is so amazing to me.

And today (as in actually today 1/28/14), We had a lesson with her and committed her to live the law of tithing. She is committed!  Seeing these people here faithfully pay their tithing is incredible. Elena lives in a one room little house made of wooden planks, with only a small stove with one burner. She's also raising her two twin granddaughters there. Yet, she is  completely willing to give one-tenth of any income she may get to the Lord. I am so grateful for people like Elena who are teaching me so much.

We had two more lessons with the amazing family who lives right next to us. Yesterday we talked with them about temples and eternal families because it came up in our previous lesson. Every time we teach them the spirit is so strong. Adriana (the mother) always tells us she can feel that what we're teaching is true, and she knows she needs to order her life in this way. At the end of our last lesson, we invited her to pray. We've d one it before, but she'd always tell us no. She didn't feel worthy enough. But last time, we kind of insisted and she did it! Afterwards, the first thing she did was look at us and say "Mi-e cald." (I'm warm). I know it's simple, but It was seriously one of the best moments of my mission so far.

We also started English classes this week! Sora Bray and I teaching the advanced level, and we have the most interesting group of students. They are all incredibly different and WE LOVE IT.  We'll come in with our lesson plan, but they just can't stop talking and/or arguing with each other so it takes like... half an hour to actually start class. But hey, they talk/argue in English so it's working, I guess!

Today is American week at Lidel. So Sora Bray and I have been stalking up on jelly beans, chicken nuggets, and BBQ sauce. Weee looooove our lives :)

We're supposed to have interviews with President Hill tomorrow but due to the snow, that's not going to happen. He'll probably be here in a couple weeks though. And we're supposed to have another exchange with Sora DeRuvo and Sora Stapley again on Thursday, but that will depend on if the trains will be up and running!

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!! You're always in my prayers.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sora Ralls

January 15, 2014

Hello from beautiful Brasov!

The picture below is Centru. Where we spend most of our contacting hours... I  have never been anywhere more beautiful in my entire life!

I feel like I am an entirely different mission over here! In Craiova our branch had  two people in it. Church was only 2 hours long, and done in one room. Here...

We have a chapel.

It felt so strange to have church in a chapel again. I loved it though, of course!

The branch here isn't very big. On Sunday I counted about 15 people. So it's about the size of the branch in Arad. They have a chapel though, because there used to be about 70 members here. A lot of them moved away though after Romania became part of the European Union. Though thet branch is small, the members are  super involved. Our ward mission leader Marius is always calling all of us to see what he can help us with, or if he can join us for lessons. 

My new colega, Sora Bray is Perfect. She graduated from Dartmouth last year, and she's in her third transfer now. We can hardly believe we've only been together for a week becasue we're practically already best friends.  

Our district is on fire. This is probably the most determined and enthused district I've served in yet, and I am loving it. There are six of us here, and one of our elders is brand new. It's so fun watching him eat all the different Romanian foods... Sora Bray and I find a new  Romanian treat for him every few days because we like to watch him eat them.  Last time is was Pufulets.

This week has been super busy, and super wonderful. On Wednesday we left Craiova, and went to Buc. We were there just for about 45 minutes thought because our train back to Brasov left really soon after we got in. We got to Brasov around 10:00 that night.

On Thursday We drove out to a little sot about 2 hours out of Brasov with Elder and Sister Powell (having a senior couple with us is AMAZING. The Powell's are INCREDIBLE. ).

We met with a couple families there who aren't able to attend church very often due to how far away they live and their lack of transport. They were all so strong though, and shared their testimonies with us. Even though they've been unable to attend church, they live the gospel 100%. You can tell from the moment you walk in their small homes.

Friday We had our first district meeting and did a lot of contacting for our English classes and did our first Brasov weekly planning.  It took a lot longer than anticipacipated, but we finally finished, and now I know all about the memebrs and investigators here.

Saturday we went and visited Elena in Feldioara. Feldioara a small small small sot 30 minutes from Brasov. We actually have a small group of members our there. So she doesn't need to travel too far to get to church which is nice.  Elena has two 4 year old granddaughters and a husband who live with her in their small little home. Feldioara looks like something I'd read about in a National Geographic. It looks like very little has changed in the last 100 years.

Sunday I got to meet the whole branch, and I LOVE THEM. They are all incredible. The Primary teacher wasn't there last Sunday so Sora Bray and I were asked to teach both hours of Primary.  Neither one of us had done it before... and now we had to teach it in Romanian.  We talked about Baptizm of course... because we can talk about that all day in Romanian if we wanted to :)

We also had them do an activity where we blind folded them and set up obsticals throught the class room as they guided each other to the other side. We were trying to teach them how the Holy Ghost can work with us... some got it, some purposly tried to run others into the walls. It is so great to be in a branch with a primary. :)

After the Brasov branch finished, we drove out with the Powell's to the Feldioada group and had church there. An elderly woman just randomly walked in because she was interested and I sat next to her. Part way though Sacrament meeting, she fell forward and was about to fall off her chair as I reached down real quick to grab her and pull her back up.... I was so scared.... I thought she passed out.. She just fell asleep... thank goodness.

Monday we had a lesson with a mother and daughter... who happen to live two doors down from us which is amazing. It was our first lesson with them, and we first talked to them on Saturday. They are both AMAZING. The daughter is 10, and the mother is probably about 30 something.

Saturday night we had a lesson in Feldioada again with a husband and wife who live out there. They were hilarious, and the wife was making little bugs our of coffee beans when we came over. She tried to explain. But we're still not exactly sure why. There were hundreds of them.

Tuesday we spent the whole day in Sibiu, which is GORGEOUS. It's a lot like Brasov, but a little smaller.

Long story short, Brasov is perfect, and I am thrilled to be here! I am so grateful to be so busy with lessons and members here. It's fantastic.

I love you all so so so much! You're always in my prayers.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo

Sora Ralls

January 6, 2014- New Year and New Places

Buna Buna!

Transfers came, and I'm heading to the beautiful city of Brașov (brä-shôv')!

I did not expect this at all. It's always  hard to say goodbye to cities and companions, but I am also really so excited. My new companion is Sora Bray. She's a newer missionary, and is in her 2nd transfer right now. She's 22 or 23 ( I can't remember!)  :) I've met her a few times before, and she's really great. And Sora Smith is being sent to Timisoara! She's excited too :) 

This week was great! It was probably one of our most successful week's we've had since coming to Craiova. We had another really great lesson with Alina and Madalina. Those two girls are amazing! In our last lesson with them, they were a little confused about prophets and authority (normal!), so we spent our last lesson with them mainly focusing on that. So it was a good recap on the restoration. I'm going to miss those two so much. Oh! We also gave them starbursts at the end of our last lesson with them. It was so funny to watch them eat them, because they don't have them here. They loved'em!

We also did a lot of hospital contacting again this week. Ahhh it works so well. We went yesterday for the last time, and it was my favorite time yet. We got the phone numbers of some really amazing families,  and the new  Craiova sisters will be meeting with them soon! I will admit, I'm a little jealous that I don't get to stay and meet with them!

As we were walking out of the hospital last night, we looked over into one of the rooms we visited, and through the window we could see a mother reading her son the Plan of Salvation pamphlet we'd given her.  We loved it.

Oh! New years eve here was AMAZING. President Hill gave everyone in the mission permission to stay out and watch the fireworks (can you believe it?!).  They do New Year's right here. EVERYONE is lighting fireworks. And not the little kind either!  Our district went up to the top of an 8 story apartment bloc and watched fireworks go off... they were EVERYWHERE. And the sky was filled with floating lanterns. Ahhh it was incredible!!!! It didn't even feel like real life.
I am so grateful for this chance I've had to serve here in Craiova. I'm going to miss it so much. The few members we've had here have been incredible. They have some of the strongest testimonies I've ever seen. Obviously it's hard for them to be the only members in the city, but they've learned to entirely rely on the Lord entirely for their strength and devotion.
Well, we're going finish packing up tonight, and we'll be heading to Bucarest  on Wednesday Morning and I'll be in Brasov by Wednesday night :) 
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxo

Love., Sora Ralls