May 26, 2014

Buna Buna!

I can't believe you went to the Powell's homecoming! I love that! AND you sat next to the Bakers. That is so funny :) They are all such wonderful people. I'm glad you got to meet them!

We've had another great week! It felt like a long one.

We had zone training in Sibiu on Tuesday. That's always fun.  We talked about the importance of goal setting, and using members in missionary work. Always good!

We've had lots of lessons with recent converts. Elena gave me some pictures of Vasilicu :) Oh! Great news about Vasilicu by the way. I meant to tell you last week, but I forgot to mention it. Cristina (Elena's other daughter) just started the adoption process to adopt him! It looks like Vasilicu might be moving to Italy in the next little while.

We've also had some really good lessons with our investigators. We had a really funny experience on Thursday.

So, we had a potential investigator, Florintina. Florintina met with the sister missionaries last year at a church tour contacting event, but she never had a lesson with them. We got in contact with her, and set up a lesson for Wednesday at the church. We waited for a bit, but she never came.

We got a hold of her, and she said she'd missed her bus so she wouldn't make it.

On Thursday we had a lesson set up with Ani, another one of our investigators. We waited for Ani at the church. We'd planned to meet at the church at 12:00. 12:15rolled around, and she still hadn't shown up. Just a minute later, the smallest, cutest, little lady who looks (and acts)  like she's from an old indie film walks through the doors.

It was Florintina! She said she was walking by and saw the open gate. So she came in!

Not 5 minutes later, Ani walked in!

So we taught them both together. :)

Ani has been investigator for a while now, so she knows somethings about the church. As we sat down at a table all together, the first thing that came out of Ani's mouth was "So, your church used to be full of polygamists. Explain to me why"..... Poor Flornitina. 

We just touched on it long enough to calm concerns, and then we told Ani we'd talk more later.

The rest of the lesson went okay, until Florintina brought up that she'd heard our church does Baptisms for the dead. Not understanding what it was exactly, Ani got a little freaked out.

Again, we touched on it just long enough to resolve concerns, and moved on.

It surprisingly ended up being an okay lesson after all though! :) But I think we'll be meeting with them separately from now on.

Church yesterday was really cool. We had 3 investigators come (Including Adriana and Beatris!). And we also got one new potential investigator we'll be meeting with hopefully tomorrow! She's the daughter of one of the members here and she is SO sweet. She loved coming to church. It was the first time she'd ever been. Her name's Carmen.

Adriana and Beatris l loved church. They fit in SO well it's amazing. It's like they've always been a part of it.
In Relief Society, the teacher asked "Why do you study the scriptures?"

Adriana raised her hands and she said 

"I started reading the scriptures everyday since I started meeting with the girls. Now that I've been doing that, I feel like I know what God wants for me and my life. I know what I need to be doing".

Ahhh Iove them.

After Relief Society, Adriana, Sora Honey and I were all waiting outside the primary room, Cristina (the teacher) saw us and told us to come in.

Beatris was answering all kinds of questions and she even said the closing prayer! She's always been nervous to pray.

Ahhhh it was just the best day ever.

Oh. And I spoke on missionary work in sacrament meeting too.

About Adriana and Beatris's baptism though, it looks like we're gonna push it back a week. They still have to finalize the marriage papers. But they are going forward!!!

Things over here are just great. great great great. This is as good as life gets.

I love you all so much! Thank you for all that you do!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxo

Sora Ralls

May 12, 2014

Buna Buna!

This week has gone by so fast! I feel like we hardly had time to breath some days. It's been wonderful though! The highlight of the week was absolutely Sora Filip's baptism yesterday (holy cow.. that was yesterday?). 

Her baptism was beautiful. The morning was a little crazy, trying to take care of all the last minute details, but everything at the ceremony went so smoothly (miracle)!  Sora Filip was so happy. All her her grandsons were super excited too. Oh, and all 4 of her grandsons now have a baptismal date for May 31st! 

We had a lesson with Sora Filip this morning. She told us that immediately after her baptism she felt "at liberty". She felt like she'd been freed from something. I loved that. It was true too. She'd been freed from any guilt, or any burden she'd been carrying for a while.

It made me so grateful for the knowledge of the  Saviors atonement. I'm grateful to know that there is nothing to heavy, or too big for the Savior to lift off our shoulders if we just ask Him.

As for the rest of the week, we just ran from lesson to lesson. I especially am loving the new convert lessons. It's been amazing to see these people grow like they are.

At Elena's this week, one of her little twin granddaughters (Elena) sat right next to me, and folded her arms, all ready to pray. Then, she pulled out her Book of Mormon, as we did. She even flipped through the pages when we did. My goshhhh... I just love those girls so much!

We've meet with a few new really cool people who we'll be setting up lessons with this week. Hopefully our investigator pool continues to grow!

Oh! And transfer board came out on Saturday. I'm staying! I'll be training a new missionary again. Sora Barrera will be headed of to Ploiesti! Luckily, she's not too far from me, and I'll get to see her at Zone Conference :)

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

Sora Ralls

March 10th, 2014

Buna Ziua!

We don't have much time today, so this might have to be a shorter email. But we've had yet another amazing week!

We've gained 3 new investigators this week... All of which have baptismal dates! Two more for March 30th (we've had to move all the baptismal dates to March 30th because  all of the presiding authority won't be available on the 29th), and one more for April 12th.

Our first two are Nicoleta and her son Adrian. Nicoleta just walked into church last Sunday. Apparently she know's Elena Pavel, and decided to come see what "her church was all about". We got Nicoleta's phone number, and met with her on Tuesday. Elena Pavel came with us and was a huge help. It's so nice when our investigators already have a friend in the church.

After just a few minutes, Nicoleta's 27 year old son, Adrian  walked in the room and stayed for the rest of the lesson. We extended the baptismal date to both of them and they both said yes :)  They are both so great! And  Nicoleta is probably one of the cutest people I've ever met. She is always telling us how much she loves us :) We love her too.

Our other new baptismal date is Georgeta. She also lives in Feldiora. We were on our way to Elena Dumitru's when we ran into her. She was chopping wood in her yard. We had a few extra minutes, so we offered to help. Thank goodness she said no, because frankly neither one of us know how to chop wood.... But we did end up talking with her for a bit, and then we asked if we could return and talk with her after our lesson with Elena. She agreed.

We came back about an hour later, and the elders came with us. We didn't have much time before our bus back to Brasov left, so we just discussed the basics, and the Book of Mormon. We extended the baptismal date, and then taught her to pray. We asked her to say the prayer at the end, and she did it! However, she didn't say it out loud. We just saw her lips moving, so we kept our eyes closed for about 5 minutes as she prayed. When she finished she told us that she "didn't want to open her eyes because she felt so good". She has a little problem with smoking, so her baptismal date is set to April 12th to give us a little more time to work things out :)

Things here in Feldiora are just bumpin. Yesterday we had 52 people at church. Some of us had to stand because there are not enough seats anymore. How awesome of a problem is that? It's the biggest congregation I've been in... and it's not even a branch yet. Most of them are investigators or friends or family of members.

Brasov is doing great too! Cristina Mesco from the branch is now practically BEST friends with Adriana. :) She came to a lesson with us last week, and after the lesson they went over to the couch and just had girl talk for like an hour. It's perfect :) They didn't come to church yesterday though because they were in Moldova. But hopefully they'll be there next week!

On Thursday we had an exchange! I went to Feldiora with Sora Peterson, and Sora Barrera did some work here in Brasov with Sora Bischoff :) Both those sisters are amazing! And it's always so fun to show new people the city.

On Saturday night, Sora Barrera was not feeling well, and wasn't sure she could make it to church. So we organized our first split!  Sora Barrera stayed at home with Sister Powell  (Sister Powell is AMAZING), and I went out with Ema Miron. Ema is in her last year of high school, and has been thinking of a mission so she was excited to come on the split. She was such a great help! And it felt so natural to be her companion for the day. If she does go on a mission, she'll be great. :) She had cute questions too. Like "Can I paint my nails if I am a missionary?". It was fun :) Sora Barrera is also feeling MUCH better now. So we're happy about that :)

And that's that! We've also had some wonderful lessons with our other investigators this week. They all continue to progress which is a miracle!

Thank you for your prayers! We need them over here!

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

xoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxcxooxxoxo

Sora Ralls

May 5, 2014

Oh, Sunday was funny. We'd challenged Sora Filip to her first fast this week. She did it! And she did so well... even despite the fact that our branch brought out cake for everyone during Sunday school (what the heck... temptation much?). She stayed strong:) 

She loved church. And she had some beautiful insights to share during relief society.  She is so looking forward to her baptism (Now on Sunday).

And this  was my last Sunday translating for Sora Powell :(  It was a really emotional Sunday as they said good bye to all the branch members.

Oh! We'll be meeting with a new investigator on Wednesday. Her name is Claudia, and she came in to church with some other investigators. She has such a genuine interest in what we believe. She is so kind, and open. We're excited to meet with her!

Church in Feldioara was great too :) The heat has been off for the last few months, and with the rain in it's been pretty cold. I love to see all those members sitting there all close together with their coats on. They are willing to come to church, no matter the conditions!

I am really going to miss them so much. They leave Brasvov on Wednesday. 

We're putting together a little memory book for them with notes from branch members and missionaries they've served with,

Today we went to Bran Caslte with the missionaries from Bucharest and Ploiesti.  It was so much fun! (I got your postcards Cinnamon!)

We're going to have a pretty packed week 

This week was a good one! And I'm so happy I got to see all of your lovely faces!!!

I love you so so so much!

xoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxox

Sora Ralls 

April 27, 2014

Buna!

It's been a long week, but it's been a good week! 

I'll start with some great news! Sora Filip will be baptized on May 10th :) Sora Filip... There seriously is no  one like her. She's incredibly selfless and loves everyone so much.  The members are excited  for her. Ahhhh she's already so powerful. She will do so much good for this branch :) 

Last week we were also able to go back and teach Cristina (Elena's daughter) and her husband. It went so well. In fact, they even gave us all their information so we  could give them as a referrer to the missionaries in Italy. They wan to learn more!

We think they'll be baptized over there :) They told us to call them if we ever go to Italy, so that "We could all go to church together". :)

So, Vasilicu, the little boy in this picture is Elena's other daughter's son. He lives in an orphanage up in Dacia, but he got to come stay with Elena and the family for Easter. 

Vasilicu is one of the sweetest, and most well behaved little boys I've ever met in my life. He even saved Sora Barrera and me from two dogs as we were walking up to their home.

As Cristina and Elena were telling us about how he'd have to go, they hugged him so close and so tight. It was so hard for them. It was hard enough just to watch. 

At the end of our lesson, we all knelt down and said a prayer. As everyone stood up and started talking, we were able to just talk with Vasilicu for a few moments.  What do you say to console a little boy who is leaving back alone to an orphanage he dreads? There's not really much you can say.  We were able to remind him though that he has a Father in Heaven who loves him very much. That he will never be alone. We reminded him that he can pray and talk to his Heavenly Father, and he will listen. Every time.

We got Vasilicu's address so we can send him little letters and things. He has such a tender heart.

Other than that, we've had a few more investigator lessons, and a whole heap of recent convert lessons. Those are always fun :)

On Sunday we had district Conference in Bucharest! We got up at 4:30 to make it to the bus and  arrive there by 10:00. The bus rides with the branch were INSANE. and Hilarious.  If you want to get to know who people really are, sit on a bus with them for 8 hours in one day. One fo the members tricked another one into eating Styrofoam... he told her they were american treats.
Then 2 of them pretended to be missionaries and contacted every single one of us on the bus... that.was.weird. And we loved it. :)


It was  also so much fun to see all of the other missionaries. Ahhh I love it so much! I saw Sora Hebden, Sora DeRuvo, Sora Bray, and Sora Steweart. Man, I have been blessed with the greatest companions.

Tomorrow President Hill is coming for interviews! Our last interviews before he leaves... Boo.

And we just found out this week that the Powells will be heading home a little earlier than expected too. Man, we're going to miss all of them.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Sora Ralls

April 7, 2014

Buna!

Yet another awesome week has gone by! We've been so busy and going from lessons to lesson... only this time all of our lessons are in Brasov!! How the heck did this happen?

Since the most of our investigators got baptized, we didn't have much of a teaching pool left. But after a few prayers, we've gained a pretty good amount of work again!

We're now teaching Ani who walked into the church during district meeting a little while ago. She'd met with the sisters about a year ago, and wanted to start taking lessons again. We met with her on  Tuesday, and we'll be meeting with her again later this week.

We're also teaching Maria. Maria contacted US. We met Maria on the street on Tuesday. She stopped us and grabbed my arm and asked how she knew me. We explained to her that we walk this street a lot. We explained who we were, and immediately she invited us to meet with her. We went over there on Friday, and she made us a perfect Romanian meal.

She was so funny too. She insisted on having us wear these large, winter vests after we started eating because she said it was too cold. Maria also came to both sessions of general conference. She also has made BEST friends already with one of the branch members, Corina..... with her everything is almost too easy :)

We've also gained a few more potential investigators we'll be meeting with this week, Including woman who walked in during general conference out of curiosity. She was thrilled when we told her we could come to he home and teach her more :)

And speaking of general conference, wasn't it awesome? I loved President Monson's talk at the end of the Saturday Afternoon session.

I really liked the way they do conference here in Brasov. We all went to the church from 7:00-9:00 on Saturday to watch Sunday morning session's live, and then we came back on Sunday, and we watched Saturday afternoon session, and then Sunday Morning session. We had a break for a little while in between sessions, and we all had lunch together with the branch members from Brasov and Feldiora.

We also played with the Boomerang I got in Peles which is now stuck on the church roof.

It's okay. It was 5 lei. :)

We've had a great week! 

Thank you for all your love and prayers! I have the best family in the world.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxo

Sora Ralls

March 31, 2014

Salut!

WE HAD FOUR BAPTISMS YESTERDAY! We still can't believe everything worked out the way it did. We took the bus out to Feldiora every day this week, and then after took the bus to Rotbov so we could meet with Monica and Larisa. We've been doing 4 lessons a day in 3 different cities, so as you can guess, we had absolutely NO downtime this week. It felt like we'd have a lesson and then immedietly we would run as fast as we could to catch the next bus. We would eat all of our meals while traveling. I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE WE WERE ABLE TO DO IT ALL. It was insane. It was the most exhausting and most rewarding week of my entire mission.

Sunday was an absolutely perfect day. I wish all of you could meet all of these wonderful people!

So many people came to see the baptisms!

Little 8 year old Larisa was the first to be baptized. She was so nervous. But she couldn't stop laughing afterwards. :) When she got up to bear her testimony, she said "I just want to thank God that He showed me the path back to Him."

Raluca was second. This 13 year old girl is going to make a perfect sister missionary someday :)

Monica was third. We've never seen her happier in her whole life. She told us after her baptism "It's like I've forgotten all my problems today".

Nicoleta was last. She was so worried about Leve having enough strength to bring her up out of the water. He did it with no problem. After her baptism we asked her how she felt and she said "Now, I feel better." (Sorry it's blurry!)

 Seriously. Yesterday was amazing. I don't know what else to say other than that. It's amazing. These people were all prepared before we got to them. We are so grateful we were able to work with them! 

Oh! And transfer board came out, and Sora Barrera and I are staying together! :) We're so happy.

Here's to another amazing transfer!

I love you all so much!! Thank you for your prayers! We can feel them.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxxo

Sora Ralls