Dream week... Too good to be true!

This week was so incredible! Sora Kelly and I have an incredible companionship. I have felt completely blessed to be companions with her. It's been so fun to continue training her. We've had so much fun this week and yet still worked super hard. For example, on Wednesday we didn't have time to do our language study in the morning and had an hour until our appointment with an investigator, but we were too far from our apartment to go home. Both Sora Kelly and I have always wanted to look around a Romanian graveyard... and low and behold 5 minutes from our investigator's home is a graveyard! Yay! So we decided to do our language study in the graveyard. As we walked around we read the headstones and learnt to say "rest in peace" and "may the land be soft"... which is a wish they say when people die. And then it was also cool because we were going to teach plan of Salvation to our investigator so we had a really reverent and spiritual discussion about after this life and left in the perfect Spirit to teach our lesson! Awesome! Sadly.... this dream week was too good to be true. On Thursday night we received another unexpected phone call from President Hill. He wants me to train again, starting this week. The conversation went something like this:

President Hill: Sora Rivera! I'm sending you a new missionary!

Me: What?

President Hill: I want you to train again, is that okay?

Me: What?

President Hill: I want you to be a trainer! We have new sisters coming next week and I need you to train one of them.

Me: Oh...

President Hill: Is that okay?

Me: Sure...

Haha! I was completely shocked! After being sent Sora Kelly and it was so perfect, and President said we'd be staying together until the end of April. But now Sora Kelly will be going to Bucharest and I'll have another brand new missionary this Wednesday! Wow! Talk about a huge shock to the system!

Sora Kelly and I have also been learning a lot this week. We've been really trying to focus on gratitude for the little things. For example... on Friday... EVERYTHING cancelled. I mean EVERYTHING! Tina started it off in the morning, by cancelling our lesson. Then, that afternoon we were supposed to go to Timisoara because they had a baptism going on there. The woman, Elena, was Sora Kelly's investigator when she was in Timi. Then we get the terrible phone call that Elena had decided to not get baptised. It was really sad, Satan was clearly working hard to tempt her and to find reasons to not get baptised. So that was super sad, but we still needed to take the train to Timi because the missionaries there were relying upon us to bring some cash to pay bills. So we rush to the Gara and find our that the train we wanted was cancelled because of the freak snow storm. Oh yeah... did I mention that it was snowing like crazy bad???! yeah! And my old boots were not protection my little feet! I was soaking wet and freezing! So then we waiting at the Maxi Taxi stop to take one to Timisoara. We waiting in the snow for an hour before finally we were able to get one and we went to Timisoara. Yet... despite all of this, the day ended up awesome! I bought new boots to save my little feet! The Maxi taxis were still running despite the snow... another tender mercy. It was amazing to see the missionaries in Timi. We also went to see Sora Kelly's favourite member in Timi, who is the funniest, and cutest old lady. So yeah... ended up a great day!

My favourite family here in Arad are the Sofroni family, (pronounced shofrony). They are a mum, dad and 9 year old girl Laura. The Dad, Dani, recently moved to England, to Birmingham actually, to find work, and they're all hoping to move there this coming year. Since they're moving the Mum, Mihaella, and Laura want to learn English. So this past week we went to visit them a couple times to teach them English. Laura is an angel child! I love her so much. She's very quiet and sweet. And always serves us drinks and wraps up food for us to take without her mum ever having to ask. They both practise English together and they've now started inviting their neighbour, Georgi, who's 13 years old, to join in the English lessons. Georgi is soo cute! She wants to go to Cambridge to university so she wants to learn more English too. At the end of the English lessons we share spiritual thoughts. It was super fun on Saturday. I brought along all the English money I had with me, all the coins and a 5 pound note and we played "shop" in English where they had to buy things from us. It was so fun. Then we shared a spiritual thought about staying strong through trials and we introduced the Book of Mormon to Georgi. She also now wants to come to church next Sunday. I really hope we'll be able to start teaching her more. 

In other news, not only is Sora Kelly leaving me, but both Elders are leaving too :( Elder Speth has been made assistant so he's off to Buch. and Elder Groberg is off to Chisinau. We've had so much fun together! It's going to be weird. My entire district is leaving!!! :( oh well... I trust the Lord and maybe my next companion and I will be besties and it'll be amazing.

Anyhoooo have an easy day! I love you all! I love this work! Thank you for your prayers! Keep the Faith!

Sora Rivera