GOOD MORNING ARAD

(This letter was sent on 10/31.  I'm so sorry I haven't been great about updating the blog! ~Sarah)

Hello wonderful family and friends who I love and miss! 

It's getting FLIPPING COLD HERE. Getting out of bed at 6:30 is a serious struggle. But I do it. And try not to fall asleep again as I'm kneeling by my bed....haha BUT TENDER MERCY!!!!!!!!! Daylight savings happened on Sunday. So I got an extra hour of sleep :') except the elders texted us at 5:30 asking us what time it was...........even after we told them the night before during our district prayer that daylight savings was happening the next morning......elders..... Hahaha J/K they're cool. I forgave them :)

SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK TIME! 

Alma 28:14 - Okay. Guys. This week. Possibly the hardest week of the mission. I was praying WAY hard all week to get my "flame" re-lit. And then I read this scripture. ANSWER TO MY PRAYERS OR WHAT?!?!??! The joy of the light of Christ. That's why I'm spending a year and half away from the people I love the most in this world. In a strange country (which sells really good bread but still). Learning a new language - WHICH IS WHIPPING MY BUTT HOLY COW. And trying to talk to people, who clearly don't really want anything to do with me and my name tag. BECAUSE THE JOY THAT JESUS CHRIST HAS BROUGHT TO MY LIFE IS WORTH WORKING IN THE LORD'S VINEYARD FOR. The light of Christ. So yes. This mission is really hard. This life is hard! No one has an easy life. If they do, it's because they're probably not doing everything they should be aka probably sinning?! You know?! But just because it's hard doesn't mean you can't be happy. You can find joy through the Savior. AND there are always little miracles happening. 

ONE OF WHICH: Zone Conference was on Wednesday.....SO I GOT TO SEE SORA DUSENBERRY AND ELDER TROTTIER !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately.....we arrived just on time. And we left early. Darn trains here in Romania. They're always 1-2 hours late hahahaha SOOOOOO I didn't get a picture with them :( BUT seeing their smiling faces and hearing how the work is going for them WAS AWESOME. Still love my MTC district with all my heart :) 

One thing I loved that President Ivory shared was D&C 88:34 and a quote that he told us."We ourselves become sanctified if we choose to respond to difficulty with obedience and if we consistently work hard to overcome our fears" aka our sins. WE NEED TO LET GO OF OUR SINS! Our sins are ease for us. They're comfortable. They're hard to let go! But we can through the Savior. Ether 12:27 :) put those weaknesses on that altar! 

ANOTHER MIRACLE: Meeting Rodica on the train from Cluj to Arad. Sora Stanley and I both really wanted to take President's counsel to really try to just befriend the people we meet. Not try to push an agenda on them. SO we tried. With Rodica. We got to know her. And were genuine. And interested in her and her life. She was with her mom. 96 YEARS OLD!!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?! And! At the end of the train ride, we offered to help her with her bags - she had a ton and had to help her mom - AND SHE GAVE US HER NUMBER AND TOLD US TO CALL HER AND COME VISIT HER. WE DIDN'T EVEN ASK! SHE WILLINGLY GAVE IT TO US. President was right. Hahahaha DOPE. We're meeting with her later this week :) 

Okay also. There was a wine festival here in Arad this past weekend. Not super good for contacting (drunk Romanians are really hard to understand hahaha). BUT. THEY. SOLD. HUNGARIAN. COZONAC. I sobbed. It is so good. I'm tempted to cross the border and go to Hungary to get the recipe. I can't really describe it... Other that it smells like Disneyland and tastes like the fruit from the tree of life. Hahahaha

OKAY FAM THAT'S ALL I HAVE TIME FOR! Emailing time is always way to short. Blah. Love you all. Be safe in your travels (Josh, dad, grandma, grandpa, John, Amy, Briana, Mom, Erin, Ezra, and anyone else I forgot hehe)

I LOVE YOU ALL AND PRAY FOR YOU AND WOW! I can feel the support, prayers, and love all the way across the Atlantic and then some. HAVE A GREAT WEEK :)

xoxox

Sora Idiart 

CUTE CUTE CUTE SORA LIDIA made me and Sora Stanley aprons. 

And since I'm the chef (yes, shocking. I know) in this companionship. 

I wear mine all the time. Mwuahahah

Thanks to Sora Stanley's mom. Sour Gummi Bears. 

Sora Stanley and I have a slight obsession with Haribo Gummi Bears. 

They're so flipping good. Anyways. 

Sora Stanley set this up for me while I was in the shower. 

Comp unity. On FLEEEEEK (back if your Mama Healy haha)

MORE CHOCOLATE SAN(ORTHODOX PREIS)TAS. 

Hahaha no separation of church and state. Gotta love it ;)

With our friends, Sonya and Sorina Berlans of Santana (20 miles from Arad)

Fall + Hospitals....but not hospitals because I'm falling. Hospitals bc I accidentally stabbed myself in the hand hahhahaha

HELLO EVERYONE!

Scripture of the week WOOOHOOOO: Hebrews 6:10-15. ESPECIALLY 10!!!! Email me if you read it and tell my your thoughts :)

It is fall here in Arad. After the weird pre-winter weather we've been having the past few weeks, the leaves are changing and the sun is COMING OUUUUUT! So I don't have to wear my snow coat and 4 layers underneath it anymore hahaha.

Okay but yes. So. I stabbed my hand with a sharp knife. It was very painful. And there was lots of blood hahahahaha. STORY TIME: Okay so since the water isn't safe to drink from the tap, we have a water filter system in our apartment. But ours has a problem with squirting everywhere (ok I've been in Romania too long... I just spelled squirting phonetically... "skwurting" HAHAH oops). So I tried fixing it. Ended up breaking the faucet like really bad hahahaha. Anyways. Not too sure how to explain how I tried to fix it with a sharp knife...or why I thought a sharp knife would help? But I didn't want our proprietor to get mad. So I tried. And the knife ended up slipping and I stabbed my hand. Luckily it was just super deep, not long. And I missed all the major arteries? So yeah. But I didn't go to the hospital. ROMANIAN HOSPITALS ARE SKETCHHHHHY and not clean. So we went to a member's house (she's a nurse) and she cleaned it out/made sure it wasn't infected. Then the elders gave us some American super glue (Romania super glue is not really super glue haha)...SO PROBLEM SOLVED. YEET. It's gonna be a sweeeeet scar. Lit. 

But we did end up going to the hospital on a different day because our investigator Mariana had some heart complications, which led to surgery! SCARY OR WHAT?!?! She is the wife of a recent convert (who is actually in New York for the time being) who has been an investigator for almost two years. Doesn't really want to change religions (Orthodox). But she loves having us over. And eventually one set of sisters or elders is going to really connect with her and she will be baptized. She's an incredibly strong and faithful woman. LOVES prayer. And the scriptures. Especially the Book of Mormon.. ANYWAYS. We were kinda freaking out when we heard that she was in the hospital! So we went over to check on her. Her son Paul was there also (also an investigator....can't kick the smoking habit). Both were really touched that we came by. While we where there, I felt like we should call the elders to have them come over to give her a blessing. OUR ELDERS ROCK! They dropped everything to come over to give her a blessing. The Spirit was STRONG in that room. Paul and Mariana were in tears after it was over. I know that both of them felt the love that their Heavenly Father has for them. Powerful experience. 

HOW GRATEFUL I AM FOR THE PRIESTHOOD!!!! And the worthy priesthood holders I have in my life! YOU GUYS ARE THE REAL MVPs! Keep being worthy and willing to exercise the LITERAL power of God, on earth. 

Arad is the greatest. I literally never want to leave. I love their slow, lazy style of speech. This city will always have my heart <3333333 (unless I serve in Brașov bc THOSE TREES AND MOUNTAINS YO JK love Arad)

UGH I JUST LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Thanks to everyone who has written me letters, emails, etc. I can feel the love from 6,000 miles away :) I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I have THE BEST support system. Family. Friends. Wardies. You guys are the best. 

PRAYING FOR YOU!

xoxox Sora Idiart 

Okay I know it looks like nothing BUT IT WAS SO GROSS AND PAINFUL.

Little pieces of flesh (like muscle or something idk I'm not a doctor) were hanging out !!!!!!!!!

Super glued update. Hahaha. I'm an over exaggerator, OK I GET IT. I'M A DRAMA QUEEN. :)

Hehehe xoxox from your favorite sister missionaries !!!!!!! We are good doctors :-)

Since they don't celebrate Halloween or Thanksgiving (duh), STRAIGHT TO CHRISTMAS! 

AKA it is acceptable to only play Christmas hymns in our apartment. 

And eat chocolate Santa's whenever we want. So we do. 

B/C it's DANG GOOD chocolate for like 15 cents. Love how cheap it is here <333

Little study corner updated with the recent letters I received

that had pics and drawings...THANKS CAM AND NIKKI!!! :) 

Almost died but didn't so that's probably a good thing ?!?! Yaaaa

HI FAM!

Don't be alarmed (this is a pun that you will understand in about 30 seconds) by the title of this email. I am not dead. Thankfully. Hahaha but Sora Stanley and I had a SERIOUS adventure this week, which greatly cut into our contacting time :( Our carbon monoxide alarm (see, this is the pun. I'm getting better at them. Sora Stanley didn't even have to help me with this one haha) was going off! Very sad story. In 2010, two Elders serving in Timisoara passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning...so it's a requirement in all the mission apartments to have a carbon monoxide alarm. If it ever goes off, you have five minutes to pack up your things, call Sora Ivory (mission president's wife), and aren't allowed to go back into your apartment. So on Wednesday night when Sora Stanley walked into our apartment at like 8:30 for dinner, we heard the alarm going off, we did just that! LONG STORY SHORT: there was NOT a carbon monoxide leak in our apartment. The alarm itself just was dying lol. But we didn't know that until like 2pm Thursday. So we had a sleepover *woot woot!* at the senior couple's apartment. They are saints. BUT IT WAS AN ADVENTURE THAT ATE AT 5 HOURS OF PROSELYTING TIME. But it was fun. And I had a good story to write, right!??!! Thanks for always praying for my safety :) 

Okay scripture tiiiiiiiiime :) D&C 123: 12, 13, 17

THESE VERSES ARE SO DOPE. Sora Stanley and I both realized last week that we could definitely be more hardworking and diligent and courageous. We decided to read the diligence section in Preach My Gospel. These verses stuck out like a ray of sunshine in rainy Arad (you would think I was back home in Oregon with how much it has rained this past week!). I LOVE verse 13... "we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven" WE KNOW THEM. SHARE THEM. BE DILIGENT! But I also love how it says in 17 that we need to do it cheerfully. This is a happy work and a happy thing to be believers in Christ, my friends :) 

Some other things this week! 

Elder Ditto! He's the newbie. From Washington. SO not only is our district the youngest, but we also are all from the #westcoastBABBBBY. Well except for Sora Stanley.....but. She only feels a little bit left out by all of our PNW (Pacific NorthWest) lingo haha 

I'm slowly yet surely trying to stop being shy.... Me shy?!?! Yeah, it's true. This language has made me become a scared little boboaca! (note from Sarah: literal translation is Freshman, but maybe it also means newbie??) But this week Sora Stanley really pushed me to stop being scared. And by that I mean she made me do all the talking. Everytime. On every tramvai (Train). And in every lesson. So! My language is improving. Love Sora Stanley. She's a hard worker :) and she's making me become a hard worker! 

ALSO HERE IS SOMETHING. I LOVE THE MEMBERS HERE. I know I've already said that, but seriously. Yesterday Sora Stanley and I did an improptu musical thing. Yeah.....so I now sing. A lot. All the time. Hahaha these poor Romanians...having to listen to me sing. Pray for them more than anyone else. ANYWAYS: Sora Decsy. She is an angel. After singing in sacrament, I sat back down next to her. She held my hand and was just a total mom. As in, she was like you mom. She was just so sweet. I could feel her love for me. AND MY LOVE GREW SO MUCH. Heavenly Father is really blessing me. I'm so grateful to be serving these people. It is such a blessing. I am becoming better because of them (and the atonement, duh). 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY! Even though it is hard - harder than anything I've ever done/probably ever will do - IT IS WORTH IT. I love Romania. I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior. I love all of you. Thanks for your prayers and support. Also, it has recently been brought to my attention that I say "hahaha" maybe a little bit too much ;) so. Probably won't stop hahhahaha but YEAH. I love you all and I pray for you all everyday! KEEP BEING STRONG AND WORKING HARD AND DOING YOUR BEST. The Lord will help you with the rest :)

Xoxoxo,

Sora Idiart 

Since I can't post pictures like this on snapchat all the time......here is a special treat :) hahahaha

Sora Stanley and I sooooooo happy to be eating at KFC since we had to evacuate our apartment......but honestly I was happy. KFC is DANK in Romania. So much better than the states. In fact, I love it. Very much.

LITTLE FRIEND FOLLOWED US HOME. Broke my heart that we couldn't rescue it. Sora Stanley kept tripping on it though. It would walk right under our feet hahaha Sora Stanley thought I kept trying to trip her until we realized that my foot was making a sound. And my foot in fact was a fluffy ball of fur. Fell in love. 

Classic Staninator face. Plus lil ole me. Hehe.

Sorry mom that I don't take any decent pics of my face. Whoops hehe 

Note from Sarah: When Emma was evacuated and had to stay with Elder and Sister Day, the Senior Missionary Couple, they sent me some pictures of her making a NORMAL FACE.  So here they are: 

 Sora Idiart, her companion Sora Stanley and Sora Day, a Senior Missionary

 All the young missionaries in Emma's district at Hunedoara's Corvin Castle

(When Harry Potter and friends first arrive at Hogwarts, the scene was filmed here!)

Aw, these two are so cute!  This castle was built in 1446!

 Romania had a country wide clean up day called "Let's Go Romania." 

All 6 missionaries and one investigator (The gal walking with Sora Idiart)

cleaned a bike path for a few hours.

The pipes you see here are part of an elaborate heating system that used to service the whole city. There once was a central heating plant --and steam was pumped to each block of apartments and businesses.  It was the communist way. 

Can you pick out Emma?  Not the tie dyed shirt, as you might think!

Look for the "Y"  They cleaned up 17 90 liter bags full of garbage (17 23 gallon bags fulls)

Eating at a Branch Member's home.
It looks like Emma's Amatchi's (Basque Great-Grandma) table setting and home decor.

"Sour cream on all the knuckles" + GIFT OF TONGUES

Alright fam, lemme tell you something about my good old trainer Sora Stanley..... SHE IS THE MESSIEST EATER OF ALL TIME.....AND I LOVE HER FOR IT. But honestly. Dad. You think I'm a messy eater? No. No way. Not compared to this mom of mine (for anyone who hasn't served a mission, a "mom/dad" is the person who trained you. So Sora Stanley is my mom haha). One of the foods we love to eat in our household are wraps. Every time. WITHOUT FAIL. Sauce ends up dripping down Sora Stanley's arm. All the way to her elbow. It is so entertaining to watch. Hahaha. BUT on Thursday night we switched it up and decided to have some quesadillas (I'm becoming quite the chef, hahaha). And Sora Stanley somehow had sour cream on all of her knuckles....but she hadn't noticed it yet. So I get both of us napkins, and she says, "Thanks! I'm probably going to need that later". No Sora Stanley. No. You need that now. Hahaha I just started laughing. For like 3 minutes. And then she notices. Sour cream on all the knuckles. So this story doesn't really have anything to do with the work...but it made me laugh. And I wanted to tell all of you :) I love Sora Stanley. I don't want another companion. She and I go perfectly together. Yin and yang. 

BUT NOOOOOOOOW IT'S TIME FOR THE SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK! Mosiah 8:18 - I want, JK, I NEED to develop the type of faith - strong enough faith - to be a benefit in the lives of my fellow man. Oh, how I am trying! But life is hard. We all have different trials and challenges. Whether you're the Bishop of a huge ward or a 19 year-old struggling to really believe that Joseph Smith SAW Jesus Christ and God the Father. You know? But I've come to realize and understand and LOVE faith. Faith is so crucial. Another set of scriptures that I LOVED are Mosiah 5:12-13. DO YOU KNOW THE SAVIOR?? I sure am trying. Let's all try better this week, yeah? Yeaaaah :) cool dude. Cool. 

Okay a few more items of business before we get to the best part: pictures. Hahah

S. Stanley and I met with the sweetest less-active named Alexandra. We got to know her and then had a way impromptu spiritual thought on the atonement. We didn't necessarily prepare a spiritual thought (shame on us as missionaries) because we thought she would spend a lot of time talking to us about herself. Romanians are such story tellers. THEY LOVE TO TALK. Usually it's hard for us to get them to stop talking long enough to leave a thought/teach a lesson haha SO we didn't really prepare a ton. And poor S. Stanley is starting to get sick....SO she had a major headache/head cold. So I led the way on the spiritual thought. And I was speaking Romanian. Like actual Romanian. And I'm not super sure what I was saying. In fact I can't remember a single word of what I testified. Because I'm pretty sure I don't even know the vocab I was using. BUT THE SPIRIT WAS PUTTING WORDS INTO MY MOUTH AND THEY WERE MAKING SENSE?!?!?! It really was an incredible experience. I've been getting really down on myself because I've finished my first transfer (!!!!!!!!!WHAT?!!!!!!!!!!!!), and I haven't felt a ton of progression. ANYWAYS. Such a tender mercy. The Lord truly blesses us when we are trying to do our best. I am trying so hard! I am failing SO MUCH. But He and the Savior are CONSTANTLY picking me up, dusting me off, and pushing me forward again. Can I just tell you?? I KNOW. With zero doubts. That Jesus Christ lived. He suffered for us. He DIED for us. He died for you. He died for me. AND HE LIVES. And because HE IS ALIVE. He knows what each of you are going through. He knows that I am struggling with this language and with these people. He knows that every single one of our investigators dropped us, and we're back at square one. HE KNOWS US. He knows you. I hope and pray that you know that. Sweet Alexandra does. And He really does. He knows her just like He knows me and He knows you. 

A super highlight of the week: I finally ate Romanian food, made by a Romanian! AND IT WAS DANNNNNNG GOOD. So good. I shed a tear. MMMM IT WAS GOOD. I love food. Hahhah. 

ALSO IM GOING TO BE A BIG SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIPEEEEE! No longer the baby in the district :') So that means that Elder Winder is leaving (sad!) and Elder Giron will be training! HOW FUN. Arad is officially the youngest district in the mission hahah because I'm going on my 2nd transfer (UM WHAT?! 2ND TRANSFER?!), S. Stanley is going on her 6th, and Elder Giron is going on his 5th. All of us combined have been out for less time than a lot of the missionaries on this mission hahah. DOPE. Fresh minds and energy. Arad needs it! 

UGH IF ONLY I COULD GIVE ALL OF YOU BIG HUGS??!?! I love you all. Thanks for your continued support. Keeps me going from day to day. UGH I LOVE YOU ALL AND I PRAY FOR YOU ALL, EVERYDAY LIKE 50 TIMES A DAY (because literally we are always praying. Seriously. I have never prayed this many times a day in my life. I love it hahha). KEEP IT REAL. I LOVE YOU.

Cu drag,

Sora Idiart 

At a new investigator's house! She is obsessed with mirrors.

They are everywhere.

Also she's like 70 and has traveled everywhere in the world.

And she loves books.

I would guess that she has like well over 1,000.

It is NUTZ. 

I FINALLY GOT A PICTURE OF A GYPSY CART !!!!!!!!! 

I have been trying to get sneaky pics since my first day in this country lol.

They are everywhere in Arad. So awesome.

PS  Sorry, not a lot of pics this week :( me and S. Stanley are going to be better at taking pictures. Maybe. Hahah 

ANOTHA WEEK ANOTHER CHANCE TO BECOME BETTER

Hey fam :) 

SO THIS WEEK'S SCRIPTURE ISSSSSSSSSSSSS *drum roll*

Not really one verse hahaha :) I started rereading the Book of Mormon lately and a few things have really been sticking out to me. THE ISAIAH CHAPTERS IN 2 NEPHI ARE DOOOOOPE I love them. And Jacob. That's also a really powerhouse book. But I love how they prophesy and talk about our day. Two things have been sticking out to me: diligence and keeping the commandments. Have you ever noticed that that's all we really need to do? KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. And the blessings of heaven are poured out unto us. And if we keep them diligently and with a willing heart then BAM. Everything will be okay. Keeping the commandments is hard. But so is out-running Sora Stanley. Fortunately for me, one of those things is attainable and what the Lord expects of me (the keeping the commandments thing. Even though Sora Stanley makes me go running every morning for excercise time hehe). He expects that of all of us. We agreed to it before we came down to this life. So let's recommit to keeping the commandments a little better this week, shall we?!

AND there was actually one scripture that I really want to share with you all. Sora Stanley and I decided to study and pray for patience this week. I understand why they caution you to ask for more patience in your life.....hahaha kidding. This week has been full of miracles and moments that have made me grow (by trying my patience lol). Mosiah 23: 21-22 = patience, faith, and trust WILL lift us up to the level God knows we can be at. And also one more scripture. Alma 31:31. Doesn't get better than that. 

ALRIGHT sorry for all that doctrine according to Sora Idiart haha about my week! 

SORA STANLEY is a flipping wizard at the violin. No joke. We went music contacting on Monday night after getting back from Hunedoara (WHICH WAS SO COOL I WANT TO BE A PRINCESS AND LIVE IN A REAL LIFE CASTLE ONE DAY). We met a really awesome Hungarian family - unfortunately both of us felt that we shouldn't push them for their contact information/set up an appointment. But following the Spirit's promptings WILL bring blessings. We were able to clear up some misconceptions about our church/beliefs for them. Oh how lovely anti-Mormon documentaries are :) 

We spent a lot of our week contacting and searching for church members who are less active to invite to conference/to come back INTO THE FOOOOOOLD of the Lord. We had a ton of success with that! Which resulted in a few of them coming to conference and feeling of our love BUT most importantly the Lord's love. We also had two of our (eternal) investigators come to conference. They LOVED the messages and went away with a conviction to be better people. 

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT TOPIC: CONFERENCE! So I watched it in Romanian! Which was a very cool/headache inducing experience :) haha jk it was mostly just awesome. Not really knowing what the speakers were saying lead me to really rely on the voice of the Spirit. So honestly. I learned SO MUCH. And so many of my prayers were answered. But I'm very excited to start rewatching it in English after my hour of emailing is up :) so many of the talks applied to me. As I'm sure all of you also think haha :) but let's be better! Better brothers, sisters, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandkids, grandparents, friends, and disciples of Christ. Really implement the advice and challenges given by God's called and chosen prophets, apostles, and leaders of His church. We will be blessed for our efforts! 

BE DILIGENT AND KEEP GOING! I love you all. Praying for you every morning, night, and every other minute of the day :) THANK YOU for your love and support. I have the best fan club :)

Cu drag,

Sora Idiart 

ps Sorry I didn't really take many pictures this week...my camera died at Hunedoara....and I forgot to charge it until right now haha :) so I'll try to be better about it this week! 

HOW DOPE IS THIS?! A REAL LIFE CASTLE. I LOVE IT. I WANT ONE. 

Kinda really creepy...but apparently she lived in this castle at one point? Jealous. 

This is for you Stebbs

Reminds me of like Harry Potter or something

(don't actually know because never read those books ??? whoops) 

Just hanging w/my HOMIESSSSSS

HAPPY AS EVER !!!!!!!!

We caught a HUGE nasty flying bug in our apartment the other night. I made this trap to make sure it didn't escape. Because it would have killed us. Idk why but Romanian bugs are bigger and scarier than in the states. Not a fan. 

"A Sense of Death & Adventure"

Hi fam :)

So the title of this email... that is how Sora Stanley and I feel every time we try to cross a street. You never really know if you're going to die or not! Luckily the Lord protects His missionaries, so we haven't even been hit one time yet haha :)

OKAY SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK: D&C 75:5 - we shared this with a less-active (Dana Muscan) this week, but really I needed to read it more than she did. Shout out to Aunt Tiff for being a BOMB D&C seminary teacher (and Uncle Aaron and Aunt Allison BUT I'm pretty sure I was still in Tiff's class when we read this section haha) and helping me understand this scripture a bit more....so "sheaves" means blessings. SO the Lord PROMISES us to laden us with blessings , glory, immortality, AND eternal life IF we are faithful. WE GET ALL OF THAT IS WE ARE FAITHFUL?!?!??! Okay. Sounds good to me. So be faithful my dudes! But also be faithful because you love the Lord ;) haha but really.

I don't have much time because I'm currently riding in a bus, using the senior couple's phone hot spot, TO CORVIN CASTLE. I will send pics next week. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FUN. Especially after driving a total of 8 hours. Reminds me of my Sasquatch days. #RIPtomymirandavoicefriends

This week was crazy! Lots of ups - a few downs BUT mostly ups :) a lot of appointments canceled on us, a lot of doors slammed in our faces, but REALLY BEAUTIFUL sunsets every night. And Sora Stanley and I just keep becoming better and better friends. Heavenly Father is mindful of me :)

One thing I wanted to talk about really quickly is prayer. S.S. and I have this eternal investigator named Rune. This week we decided to hit him hard with the Joseph Smith story. Testify boldly. Commit him to pray to know if what the missionaries have been telling him for the last year is true, and make a decision. HE PRAYED AND GUESS WHAT. He told us that he still didn't ask if everything was true, but he did pray. Which he hasn't done since he was in his teens (he's 60ish now). And he told us that when he prayed, he felt at home. WELL DUH YOU WOULD FEEL AT HOME! You're talking to YOUR FATHER !!!!!! Rune. What a character :) Anyways. That was such an awesome moment for me. To hear him tell us that prayer=home. And for him to know that and believe that. Powerful stuff.

I love you all! Keep going! Keep praying! Develop a real relationship with Heavenly Father. You can do that through prayer. TALK TO HIM. Yes! He knows everything already. But He has given us the gift of prayer - a way to communicate with Him - for our benefit. To help us develop a bond with Him. I love prayer. I love you all. I pray for you all - mostly by name. Sora Stanley gets mad at how long my prayers are in the morning because it shortens the amount of time we run ;) But I have to mention all of you by name!?!?! Just kidding. She doesn't get mad. But we do run for less time. Mwuahahaha ;)

OKAY THANKS FOR YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME.

Cu drag, 

Sora Idiart 

 SHWARMA !!!!! First time. Life changing. Don't get too scoops of the hot sauce though. You will die. And then go to a lesson and be sweating. A lot. Hahaha

 Didn't buy it....probably should have. Sounds appetizing right?! 

This bread cost 75 cents. It tasted like a cloud. They sell it at a bakery right by our apartment. I'm going to gain 60 pounds. BECAUSE I ALSO DISCOVERED FINITI (sp?) AND WOW THAT STUFF IS DANK. 

Here is the thing about Sora Stanley. She makes everything fun. And always insists on eating the smaller of the things we have in our apartment. 

So this is a tiny piece of bread + a mountain of PB & J. Nut job. Haha :)

Blessing come for HAAAAAARD work

Hey fam!

I think I maybe walked 900 miles this week between meetings, contacting, finding less-actives, and the normal/daily adventures that Sora Stanley and I seem to keep having :) (I can't find the hashtag on this Romanian keyboard or else I would do "hashtag get fit" haha)

OKAY SO SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK:

1 Nephi 13:37 - I started rereading the Book of Mormon and wow. I love that book. It is BOM hahhaha ;) mormon puns. How they give me life. I LOVE THE ENTIRE VERSE. We need to SEEK to bring forth Zion. SEEK in all instances to be better and stronger and more faithful. But I really love the phrase "how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be". This is something I've been thinking a lot about. This week was a little rough fam, so I've had the analogy of our trials being mountains on my brain lately. But I love that this scripture says the word beautiful. When we look back on the hard things we've accomplished in this life because we have endured and had the Holy Ghost with us, WE SEE THAT OUR LIVES ARE BEAUTIFUL. Truly beautiful. Being a missionary is hard! Romanian is a way hard language, BUT the experiences I've had, the Spirit I've felt, and the people I've met have made it all seem wonderful. 

SO if you are on a mountain right now, whether it's just starting, you're in the middle, or you can almost see the peak - KEEP GOING. And look for the instances where you've felt the love of God in your life. If you can't find those moments, try harder. And then know that I love you and I'm always praying for you! 

So let me tell you about a few of those beautiful moments this week :) 

Sora Stanley really focused the beginning of our week on doing some serious contacting. To be creative and make it fun we decided to pick a color and contact THE HECK out of that color hahah aka we talked to everyone wearing that color. So Wednesday roles around and the previous days all we saw were people wearing orange (Monday's color) and yellow (Tuesday's color). So we decided to be a little more specific to be able to find THE ONE who needs the gospel. And that's when we met Flavius. Well before we met him, we saw him 4 times. He was wearing BRIGHT blue shoes and a blue shirt, which were the specifics for that day! (Ben and Josh you would have loved his shoes. They were really cool) 

OKAY ANYWAYS FLAVIUS: Really cool dude. Likes to talk a lot. So Sora Stanley and I have a hard time getting a word in edge-wise, but he's willing to listen AND EAGER. He has questions. Which is fun :) He's a pretty devote Orthodox, which is strange to find in the younger generation, BUT we've met with him, taught him, and he's followed up/kept commitments aka WE GOT A NEW INVESTIGATOR THIS WEEK! 

Well two investigators actually. SUPER SWEET LADY in her 40's named Adriana. She is golden. The gospel will bless her life so much. SO keep her and Flavius in your prayers this week! They need the gospel! And Sora Stanley and I need to know how and what to teach them! :)

On the same note of miracles: WE HAD 20 PEOPLE (including missionaries) AT CHURCH YESTERDAY. Two of the less-actives we invited came! It really was a miracle. The work is coming along here in Arad. Heavenly Father is mindful OF ALL HIS CHILDREN!

Okay here were the adventures of the week:

Our water got shut off for a day.....hahahha there is a leakage problem...which still hasn't been fixed. But it will get fixed. Once Sora Stanley and I learn plumbing terms in Romanian or the plumber learns English...... The good thing is that we have water again! Yay for not having to wash our faces in the next-door grocery store's bathroom haha :) 

We met with a less active in Arad Nou (New Arad), which is the farthest thing from new...haha we crossed some suuuuuper sketchy/AWESOME train tracks for a few yards to get there. Which is where I saw my first Gypsy cart with a donkey and all. Very fun. Honestly though, really humbling. The people have so little, but still smile and say hello when we initiate conversation with them. I LOVE ROMANIANS SO MUCH !!!!!!!!!!!

I gave my first (and hopefully last) talk in Romanian yesterday! The topic was on the gifts of the Spirit. It made me grateful for the gifts I've been given, BUT how I need to work SO MUCH HARDER to develop more so that I can be a better instrument in the Lord's hands. Thank heavens for the atonement and the strength and ability to change and become better through Christ, my favorite older brother - thank heavens J and B are the best and my favorite little brothers :) 

CAN I JUST SAY THANK YOU for all of the prayers and love and support I've received?! I know I say this every week, but S E R I O U S L Y. I am made strong and better 1) through the Savior but 2) through all of you. I love and pray for everyone of you back home. Keep it up. I love you and Heavenly Father loves you. Have a great week!

Cu drag,

Sora Idiart 

Making friends after lunch. Pigeons are the spawn of Satan. I hate them. They give me nightmares. 

Just doing some weekly planning with my two homies (Sora Stanley and the Savior. Dream team)

How I felt after weekly planning/updating the area book 

(UPDATE YOUR AREA BOOK PEOPLE OR ELSE YOU GIVE FUTURE SISTERS GRAY HAIR)