December 16, 2013 Buna Buna!

Good news, everyone! They sell Philadelphia cream cheese here mixed with Milka Chocolate! We just found it while we were grocery shopping today!

In other good, (and probably even better!) news, we had a very successful week! We're still investigator-less, but not for long! We found 3 people who we will be meeting with this week, and we were able to meet up with a woman here who's been inactive for quite a while now!

The first woman we'll be meeting with is named Janina. We found her when we were contacting in a very humble looking apartment block. She came to her door, and we shared a message about the Book of Mormon. She seemed so interested! So we asked her if we could leave it with her, and return later to talk more about it. When we asked this she said "But how? I have no money to buy it.". When we explained it was free, she was so happy!

Our other 2 investigators came from our English class. We have all the student fill out questionnaires at the beginning and one of the questions on the questioner is " Are you interested in learning more about the church?" and these two girls, who are  21 and 23 checked yes!

We talked with them a little bit last week, and they are excited to meet with us! But I think we're even more excited to meet with them :)

As for the inactive woman we met with, her name is Illeana, and she is amazing. We came to the door, and immedietly she welcomed us in. We brought her some Christmas cookies and a Christmas message. We also discussed a little bit about why she hadn't been coming to church. Things have been hard for her and she's been having money and health issues. She didn't come to church last Sunday, but she did invite us to come back! She'll be coming back to church soon, we're sure of it :)

We had a couple of great English classes this week. We love our advanced English class a lot. We did an activity on Saturday where we had each member of the class draw a candy bar out of a hat and then they had to stand up and try to give a 1 to 2 minute speech on why their candy bar was better than everyone elses . 

Oh! On Sunday I got to translate for the first time! It was from Romanian to English so it wasn't too hard. We had someone visiting from the US, and I got to translate the Elder's Sunday school lesson. So that was fun!

And that's our week! Things are going great over here! Thank you so much for your support and prayers! I know that's a huge part of why we had success this week!

I love you so much!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Sora Ralls

December 9, 2013

Buna Buna!

This week has been soooo busy and so crazy. We've loved it!

Tuesday and Wednesday we did mainly contacting. Because we've been whitewashed in, we don't have much else to do, other than contact. It's strange having 0 investigators. Let's be real, we like contacting, but we really miss teaching! People in the West were also more willing to talk with us and let us come into their homes than they are here. Things are just quicker and busier here. 

The small branch though is absolutely amazing. The Spooners are some of the best people I've ever met... oh and they know Aunt Vivian! Which is super cool. 

On Thursday night, we took a train to Bucharest for Zone training and the zone Christmas party. It was so so so much fun! We did a tie/ scarf exchange (white elephant style), and we watched a picture slideshow. They also fed us a Christmas lunch that included ROOT BEER. Okay, that was awesome. The new mission president was also announced! His name is President Ivory, and he's the president of Ivory homes in Utah.... Sound familiar? He's very young, and he has a little son who will be living with them here. We're all really excited, and naturally a little anxious. President Hill read us a little letter from President Ivory, in which he told us that he'd talked with President Uctdorf who said that the brethren believe that Romania and Moldova are currently at a "tipping point" and that the work that's done here and now is crucial.
So after the conference we stayed in Bucharest for another, and left back to Craiova early in the morning. We had the branch Christmas party at 2:00 and made it to Craiova with 15 minutes to spare. It was only Fratele and Sora Radulescu, the Spooners and the missionaries at the Christmas party, but it was still great :) Unfortunately, we couldn't get a hold of a single less active member, or get any of our potentials to come.

Tomorrow we start English classes again! We're looking forward to that. Sora Smith and I will be teaching advanced English this transfer. Tomorrow the Spooners are also taking us out to eat. President and Sora Spooner are leaving back to America this week and won't be back until sometime in January. So we'll have a good time trying to figure out how to keep the branch going without them :)

It's insane to be serving in such a small little branch. I love it though because we are the ones who get to see the work progress from the bottom up. I can honestly  say that I really believe the church will flourish here someday. And I can say that because I'm watching the foundation be laid everyday!
Craiova is the best. My companion is the best.  Missions are the best. You guys are the best.

I love you all so so so much!

Have a wonderful week!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sora Ralls

December 2, 2013

Hello from Craiova!

It feels like forever since I last emailed home! I don't even know where to start. 

We went to Bucharest on Wednesday and we got to see all of our mission friends again! We didn't stay long though because the train to Craiova left around 5:00 pm. That's the earliest I've ever had to leave from transfers!

But we got into Craiova around 9:00 pm, and out elders were there to meet us at the train station. They even made us "Welcome to Craiova!" signs. It was awesome.

Our Apartment here is AWESOME. It's definitely older, but it's so cute and homey. The Elders put up Christmas lights inside our apartment for us. AND it has two bathrooms. so we can't complain!

Our Thanksgiving was super, but it didn't turn out how we planned. We'd planned on cooking a dinner together at the church, but the lock on our door broke when we'd come home to start cooking that evening... so we called the Elders, and they came over to try and help. They couldn't get it open, so we called the landlord but he was out of town!!! So, we spent a good portion of the evening looking for a locksmith. HA! we never found one. but eventually the Elders just forced the door open... it was awesome. Afterwards we just ended up drinking hot chocolate at the church. It wasn't how we'd planned... but I really did love Thanksgiving :) It absolutely made me grateful for an awesome mission district!

On Friday, we met the Spooners. The Spooners are AMAZING!!! Aunt Vivian knows them!  They're from Michigan, and President Spooner is the manager of the Ford plant here. He also makes sure the little branch here functions. We went to their apartment, and they had dinner for us. Being in their home felt like AMERICA.  They even had ranch dressing for us! I haven't' seen ranch since the MTC.

Sunday was super cool. Since there are only 4 branch members we all got to go up and share our testimony. MAN IT WAS AWESOME. The church here is tiny. It's only 3 rooms... oh and half of the building is a club... Club Ludi. Ha ha:) Church here also only lasts 2 hours... since there aren't enough people to split into Relief Society and Priesthood. 

It seriously is such a blessing to be here in Craiova. One of the first things the Spooners and the other branch members told us is that they've been praying specifically to have sisters in Craiova for years, and that they were thrilled to have us. It makes me think of how many people all over the world are having their prayers for missionaries answered during this wave of missionary work. I feel so blessed to be a part of it!

Let's seeeee what else....

Sora Smith is amazing! I love her so much. She's so funny, and she loves to tell stories. Her birthday was 2 days ago! So that was fun. We all went out and got Chinese food to celebrate!

OH I almost forgot! We found a new Investigator! Her name is Dorina. We met her at a branch activity... what's interesting about serving here is that the branch is much smaller than Arad's, but  the branch activities have SO many more people that come. So, we met Dorina at the branch activity. She even came to church on Sunday! But about half way through Sacrament meeting she turned to me and said "I want to leave." So, I ended up walking her out.She just said she had other stuff to do, but we're meeting with her again on Friday!

So, basically Craiova is just awesome. Everything here is just awesome.

I'll attach some pictures of the city and apartment!

I love you all!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Sora Ralls

November 25th-

Mom found it, and sent this screenshot to everyone....

November 25, 2015 - transferred! 

Buna Buna one last time from Arad!

President called on Saturday and I'm being transferred to the city of Craiova!

I'll be serving with Sora Smith from Orem! She's in her 2nd transfer now. I've met her a couple times and she's great. I'll have to say though I was surprised to be going to Craiova. It's been an elders only city and now we're going to be the first sisters to serve there! In other words...."We're gonna be the best sister missionaries Craiova's ever seen!" The branch there has only 4 members including the American branch president and his wife... so it will be a different experience:)  

So we'll be going back to Bucharest tomorrow night, and then I'll be taking a 3 1/2 hour bus ride to Criavoa. 

I'm super looking forward to going to Craiova, but I am so sad to be leaving Arad. My gosh, saying goodbye to the branch was terribly sad on Sunday.  I'm going  to miss them so much! 

We had a few lessons this week- We were able to meet with Anca, Alex, and Eccaterina (who also came to church on Sunday... AGAIN!)  Our lesson with Eccaterina was wonderful. We taught the plan of Salvation. She just told us she felt such peace when were talking about it.  She'll be baptized :)
We also did contacting this week in a little section of Arad called Gui. I love being there. It feels like being in a neighborhood again. There aren't any apartments over there... just vilas. It's one of my favorite places to contact :)
We passed out some Book of Mormons to some wonderful people too.
We also spent some time this week doing office work things in preparation for next transfer. We rewrote and updated  member information for the new missionaries coming in and things like that.

In just a little while Sora Adams and I are going over to Cristina's (remember her? She's the member that's leaving to France on her mission). We're  Going to help her get her luggage and everything to the train station so she can get to the airport and head to the MTC! Hopefully everything goes more smoothly this time.

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is on Thursday. I have to keep being reminded.  And in the spirit of thanksgiving..... 

http://www.lds.org/search?lang=eng&query=the+divine+gift+gratitude

Something I'm  learning out here is to be grateful for small successes. Since day 1 of our companionship, Sora Adams always asks me at night what 3 things I was grateful for that day. It just proves to us that even on the  hardest days there are always things to be grateful for. :)

I love you all!!!!! Have a wonderful week and great Thanksgiving! 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sora Ralls

Here's a picture of Arad's cute little Relief Society. The woman next to Sora Adams is Eccaterina :)

November 19, 2013

Buna Buna!

Sorry this email is a day late, but we had a great time at the Hunedoara castle yesterday! We were only able to stay a couple hours, but it was totally worth the trip! The train to get there and back took 3 1/2 hours, and we played games along the way.

We had a wonderful week last week, and we were able to do a lot of teaching. It's strange because  we've been so busy with lessons we haven't had much time to do contacting. That's so strange to me!

We had a really neat lesson last week with Anca about temples. Our intention was to teach on prophets, but at one point during the English lesson portion of our lesson, we just ended up talking about the Salt Lake Temple. She wanted to see a picture, so we grabbed and Ensign and showed her. She loved it, and it went so well. My gosh, I miss the temple so so so much. I look forward to going again!

We met with Ana again this week, and it was wonderful. We talked about the Restoration again, because she's forgotten much of it since the sisters first met with her years ago. It went so well. 

President Hill sent me an email that I read today, and he told us more about Ana. For some reason, it's not in her investigator record, but President Hill told me that the sisters said "she is one of the most prepared people they'd ever met, and it was just that her husband didn't want her to attend church with the Mormons." Apparently she's also had several baptismal dates.She's never mentioned that to us either. We've met her husband a couple times. He won't stay for the lessons, but he's very kind and lets us teach Ana. We're really hoping things might go a little smoother this time. Ana really is one of the most open, and kind people I've ever met. She always has something to feed us when we come over. And last time, I was wearing flats when we came to her home. She was shocked, and insisted that I put on some tennis shoes she had in the house... then she saw to it that I wore them home... haha:) We just walked to the church (which was super close to her home) and then I switched my shoes back. 

Speaking of which, Romanians are so afraid of cold weather. It's funny. Mom, you'd fit right in! :)

First of all- They turn off all refrigeration in the winter. So if you want a cold drink, you can't find one... unless you go to McDonalds. They think drinking cold drinks in the winter is really bad for you. Also, if you ever come to Romania and it's windy or even just slightly chilly... remember to wear your tights, or people will tell you to put some on or you'll "catch the sickness". :) I try a lot harder to remember to wear tights now :)

Transfer board is coming out this week! Probably on Friday. I can't believe my 4th transfer is just about over! These transfers go by way too quickly.  If I leave Arad, I'll be a little sad. Just because I love the people and the branch so much. But it would also be exciting to see somewhere new.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thank you for all your prayers! I feel them. You're in mine!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Sora Ralls

Six Month Mark! 

November 4

Salut!

This week was  insane! I can hardly believe it's only been a week!

It's been wonderful, and very very very busy.

On Tuesday we had an exchange with the Sister training leader, and started English classes again. Sora Adams and I are teaching a new Children's English class, and its awesome! We have about 6 people come to this class, so it's pretty small, but SO much fun. Last time we went over animals and next time we're doing colors and numbers.

Our exchange was a lot of fun too. I went with Sora Lund and we did a whole lot of Block knocking. We knocked on so many doors.  We were able to hand out a few pamphlets as well as a Book of Mormon!

Oh, speaking of block knocking, Sora Adams and I block knocked again on Friday. We were on our second building, and rang in to one of the apartments to open the door for us. A guy answered, and then let us in. When we walked in the building, he stepped out of his apartment, and then asked us to come in. He told us his name was Anderew, and he was about 60 years old. He had a whole ton of beautiful paintings in his apartment, done by his uncle. He spoke English really well and was so knowledgeable. While I was there, I kept thinking "this guy reminds me of Uncle Jesse".

He took out his Bible, and asked us if we used one. We told us we did, and then he asked us to share our favorite verse with him. Sora Adams shared Romans 8:16

 "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"

When He read this, he asked us "Do you believe this?" We told him we did. He  then told us "This is interesting. It's new to me."

Our short lesson with him was just based on that. That we are children of our Heavenly Father. It was simple, but it might have been one of my favorites so far. He invited us back, and we'll be meeting with him again on Thursday.

Sunday was amazing too. We finally had an investigator come to church! 

A couple weeks ago, Sora Adams and I were contacting for our English classes in a park. English contacting is super simple. We just hand out English cards to people in the park and explain briefly.  So, we handed a card to this lady on the bench, and said our usual "Good morning, here ya go. We teach free English classes. The address is on the back." And then walked away. When we were leaving the park though, I felt like we should go back and talk to this lady. Then Sora Adams and stopped and discussed for a moment about how we could go back to her again in the least awkward way possible...

We fnally just went right for it, and asked if we could share something else with her. We had a wonderful lesson right there in the park. She promised to come to church that Sunday, but didn't come. We found her again this week  on Wednesday and she told us she had been sick last week, but would come this week. AND SHE DID!!!! It was amazing. It was fast and testimony meeting, and she even got up and thanked everyone for being so great and welcoming to her. She also asked for prayers.

After Sacrament, We went upstairs with her and one of the members, Sora Piper and had a lesson right there. My goodness. It was amazing. We're meeting with her again on Tuesday! Her name is Sister Roica.

I love weeks like this. I am so grateful to be a missionary! There really is no greater joy than to share the great news of the gospel!

I love  you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

xoxoxoxoxoxxxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Sora Ralls

Oh Ps! I hit my 6th month mark! I can't believe it. Time goes by so fast! Our district celebrated by eating Kinder Eggs together. It was perfect. :)