Promises

Me and Some penguin friends

Arad

Me outside Pizza Ok in Arad after 12 hours of travel

Me and Sora Adams

I got to go back to Arad this week.... but it was a little rough getting there. Our train was supposed to leave at 11.45 pm Sunday night, long story short, we missed our train and ended up taking the day train at 5.45am instead. It was rough! But we finally arrived. I went on the exchanges with Sora Adams. She is so completely wonderful! We had a very very long day of nothing but contacting in the freezing cold weather. We found absolutely nobody, and had a great time doing it! I felt that sentence come alive from PMG, that says something along the lines of, you may be disappointed with the choices of others, but you will not be disappointed in your self. Sora Adams and I walked all day long, and talked all day long. The only person who stopped to talk to us was a creepy guy who fell in love with me.

Timisoara

The day after Arad we went to Timisoara and I went on the exchange with Sora Hebdon.

She's a really hard working missionary. We got bunged twice, normal, but thankfully we were lucky enough to have a lesson with a woman from Nigeria. She was sooo cool! The elders had found her bloc knocking and had referred her to the sisters. She has a strong faith in Christ and was very interested to hear about "our book". We had a cool introductory lesson, getting to know her. I felt so inspired by the lesson. I'm looking forward to hearing how she progresses.

Me and Sora Hebdon

Panduri Chapel

Bucharest

So far, Buch is great! It's crazy busy, and I'm not as fan of that, but I really enjoy that there are always people to talk to and things to do. The branch is also really cool. It's my first time having a chapel in this country. There are many members, only about 50 are active, but we're trying to use the Christmas season to our advantage. We also have a great district. Sora and I have been working really hard, talking to many people, and getting to know the members. We have a couple investigators who aren't currently progressing, but hopefully that'll change this week. The branch president really likes me already, so things are looking promising. This branch has had a rough history with forming good relationships between members and missionaries, so hopefully that should change soon. :)

My new view in Bucharest .. >:[ not quite as pretty as Iasi or Constanta

Zone Conference

We had the Christmas zone conference on Friday. It was really fun and very inspired. The assistants gave a beautiful presentation about Grace, the food was great, the scarf/ tie exchange between all the missionaries was super funny. I got a cool, grey, infinity scarf :) The Christmas slideshow was hilarious! With hundreds of pictures of the people I love!

The dying testimonies were wonderful as always. (Dying = missionaries leaving their mission). It was weird though because so many of the missionaries leaving are some of my best friends in the mission. I really enjoyed Elder Ward's testimony, he talked about understanding, and how so often as missionaries we are searching for understanding: why don't things go the way we think they should/ want them too. But the truth is, that we can't understand, because God's ways are not our ways. He put it a lot better than I'm explaining it, but trust me, it was good.

The Sister Training Leaders: From left to right: Sora Heim, Me, Soras Polatis, Lund, DeRuvo and Stapely

We found out that the new Romania/Moldova Mission President, starting this July, will be President Ivory. He and his wife are pretty young, they even have a ten year old son who'll be coming to Romania with them. It seems so weird to think of a different mission president here, but he seems great, and he spoke with President Uchtdorf recently who told him that Romania and Moldova are at a tipping point, in terms of the church. :)

My favourite part of zone conference, was President Hill's short presentation at the very end. He shared with us the verses from chapter 1 of 3 Nephi. How everyone had been looking forward to the coming of Christ, yet, the people were persecuted.

 7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.

 8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for ^{athat day} and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.

They wanted to know that their faith hadn't been in vain. And in verse 13, Nephi received the wonderful news that the promises were about to come true!

13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the ^asign be given, and on the ^bmorrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be ^cspoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

President asked us, What promises have been made concerning this land? and concerning Moldova? In the prayer dedicating Romania to the preaching of the gospel, Elder Nelson promised that Romania was rich in the blood of Israel, and that it would be a light to surrounding nations. Moldova was promised, also by Elder Nelson, that stakes would be created to gather in the people to the church. Yet, none of these promises have come true. We wait, anxiously, for the day when we will see these promises fulfilled. But just like the promises that a Saviour would come, we can also have faith that the promises concerning this land will also come true. I know those promises will come true. I know that Romania is rich in the blood of Israel, and they will come to know their master's voice.

Keep the Faith everyone!

Sora Rivera