The line goes ever on and on...

Huge line to see a saint

Imagine the longest queue you've ever seen. I'm talking Disneyland Magic Mountain combined with a Beatles concert from back in the day. Picture that line... double it, and then maybe you'll have a idea of the queue that has been winding itself along the streets of Iasi over the past few days. You see, there's this saint - a lady saint, St. Parascheva. She was buried like 400 years ago, and apparently dug up like 80 years ago, and her body was somehow perfectly preserved, so the Orthodox church took her and buried her in the main church in central Iasi, and every year on her Saint Day, thousands and thousands of people come from all across Romania and Eastern Europe to pray to her and kiss her mummified hand in the hopes of healing and miracles and stuff. And since so many people come the city also chooses to celebrate the entire week with markets and fireworks. 

So the police set up road blocks and there's crowd control like crazy and the people go on and on through the streets winding there way up towards the church. The lamp posts all have big speaker/ megaphones attached to them too, so the priests sing from inside the church into the microphones so the thousands upon thousands of people lining up can hear the prayers. Lucky us missionaries live right next to the crowds of people so all night long for the past few days we've been lucky enough to be sung to sleep by the priests. 

Us at a Church

The queue  goes down the street where our little tiny rented out house where we hold church is. The police had blocked off the road and time and time again we've been having to convince the officers that we are not trying to cut the line but we are actually going to our church.... "the True church!" as one of the elders told the officer last night. I respect and admire the many people in the line who are truly seeking God, but we've also witnessed a lot of corruption in the past few days. 

The conversation with the Police Officers a few times a day goes something like this:  

Police Officer 1: Where are you going?

Us: To our church, on Strada Ipsilanti 28

Police Officer 1: There's no church there

Us: Yes there is, it's our church, the orange villa on the corner

Police Officer 1: I've never seen that church

Us: It's a house, we use it as a church

Police Officer 1: You can't come through

Us: We've been this way 10 times in the past few days

Police Officer 1: You can't come through

Us: We're just going to that orange building right there on the corner

Police Officer 1: No

Police Officer 2: Where are you going?

Us: To our church, that building, the orange one

Police Officer 2: Do you have proof of your church?

Us: Yeah, we can see it! It's right there, number 28 

Police Officer 1 (now getting bored): Fine..... 

And he lets us through.... it's crazy! The Senior Couple over Iasi were supposed to visit this weekend but they couldn't get a hotel so they'll have to come another week. I haven't seen this many people in a Romanian city in my whole mission. Tomorrow is the last day though, so by Wednesday we should have our streets back. 

Monica (our recent convert) and her little sister Miruna (age 6 - ADORABLE)

In afara de asta... this week has been lovely. We've had a few lessons. Sora found out she's leaving to Bucharest to be a sister Training leader with Sora Heim :( So we're sad to be separated. This transfer has been wonderful. But on the bright side  I'm going to be serving with Sora Kelly!!!!! :D :D :D I'm soooo pumped! We also went street boarding this past week and found a few more potential investigators. Today we went to visit a castle and took a thousand pictures, but my camera died early on, so we took pictures on Elder Rose's camera, I'll have to send them next week, but if you want to Google the castle it is called: "Cetatea Neamt" It was super fun and beautiful weather.

The church is true. I've seen so many miracles this transfer. I feel as though I've gained such a strong testimony that god really knows what's best for us. I love you all, and I thank you for your prayers. Keep the Faith!

Love Sora Rivera xxx