This week was so great! We went to Arad for Zone Training Meeting
and stayed another day to do our exchange with Arad. On the way there I got to
talk to this extremely nice lady named Florica. She was going down to Arad to
apply for a dentristry job there. She was really cool and we talked a lot about
cooking because she loves to cook! She told me how to make Cozonac which is a
Romanian specialty. But I actually don't remember how she told me to make
it...haha. But I really enjoyed talking to her even though I was half asleep
since we had to get up at 4 that morning to get to the train at 5. At the end I
gave her a little pass-along card and she seemed very grateful to receive it. I
wanted to ask for her number, but she got off the train before I could. But
that's ok! I think I made a good impression.
Zone training was great! Sora Tobler and I gave a presentation about
Christlike attributes and how developing Christlike attributes helps us fulfill
our purpose as missionaries. It went really well! We really didn't actually do a
whole lot for it. We just split up all the Christlike attributes and let
everyone else do the teaching! Everyone had really great comments and the Spirit
was super strong.
I had a longosi for the first time there! Longosi are like gogosi exept for
longer and they usually don't have sweet things in them. Mine had potatoes and
it was sooooooooooo good! I guess longosi are more of a Western Romanian food
while gogosi are more middle Romania, but I stil see gogosi here too.
After the meeting we started our eschange! I went with Sora O'Brien! She is
so amazing and just so excited for this work. And she just has such an amazing
vision for her area. It was so cool to see a missionary who knows that she's the
one who makes her mission. It's not dependant on any circumstance or companion
or mission president or anything outside. It's just you and the Lord. And she
knows that! She knows what she wants to happen and she is so willing to follow
the Lord and His direction.
Something that I really learned from Sora O'Brien is the importance of
bearing testimony often and not being afraid to stop for a couple minutes and
ponder what the Lord wants us to do and where He wants us to go. There was a
time we were walking down the street and all of a sudden she just stops and
thinks for a second. She then turned and started walking down another street!
One that street we went to a block and found 3 potential families! The first
family we talked to a young early-teenager girl opened the door. We told her we
were from America trying to learn more about Romanian beliefs and asked if we
could do a survey. She said yes and we asked her a couple questions, but then
her mom came up and was like, "Nu nu nu nu nu!!! Nu vorbim cu voi!" and shut the
door. The next door we was actually their grandpa! He answered all of our
questions and said we could come back if we wanted.
After that we moved on and another old guy answered all of the questions
and said he would be interested in learning more, too. After Sora O'Brien told
me that she wished we could have given the first young girl we talked to an
English card. I thought that was a great idea! So we went back up and knocked on
the grandpa's door (we had seen his grandaughter go in there right before we
left) and gave him an English card to give to his grandaughter! He seemed more
than delighted to give it to her. We both felt really good that we did that, and
I was just glad Sra O'Brien had that impression to do it.
The last door we knocked we met this Hungarian couple (they spoke Romanian
of course). They were older and the wife was pretty sick and just laying in her
bed when we came in. We sat on the floor while we talked to her. She was so so
so sweet. She showed us her pictures and we showed her our pictures and then
starting talking about the Book of Mormon. And guess what! She already had one!
Apparently 8 years ago she went to the English classes and the Elders there gave
her one. She had read it, but she said she couldn't really understand all of it
because it was in Romanian and her first language is Hungarian. So Sora O'Brien
said that she would bring her one in Hangarian to read and Ana Maria (that's her
name) was so happy! And I was so glad we could bring her some joy that
night.
The next day we finished our exchange. We visited a member who was super
super nice. And then we got on the train that night (after doing 'closing
ceremonies') and rode on back. It was sooooooooooooo hot! But it was probably
one of my favorite train rides I've had. sora Tobler and I talked a lot about
some of the best experiences we've had on the mission. We talked a lot more, but
then the train started speeding up more and we could really hear each other
because all the windows were open because it was so hot. So I just started
singing (because no one could hear it...haha) and I just felt so good. A couple
minutes later Sora Tobler yelled at me, "Haha, you can't even hear me singing
over here!" and I was like, "What?!?! I'm singing too!" ...yep...cool
story...
The rest of this week we mostly just English contacted. We also made our
travel schedule which took a while because the train times are ridiculous and
getting to Sibiu is pretty hard because there isn't a train that goes directly
there, but we finally figured it all out. We're going to Cluj this week! Can't
wait!
We also had a great contact the other day. I gave a lady an English card
who was waiting at a bus stop. But then she asked us who we were and what church
we were with and what we believed and we got to testify a lot about what we
believed. I love working with Sora Tobler again because we already know well how
to contact and teach together and have a balance. Mariana was the name of the
lady and we got to testify so much about how Christ is our Savior and how He
loves us and how He has given us another book of Scripture. We handed her The
Book of Mormon and she started reading a little bit of it. We just let her read
a couple verses in 3 Nephi 11 and she thought it was amazing! We told her we
wanted to give it to her as a gift. She said that she normally doesn't read
things from other religions...(pause)...but that she would like to read the Book
of Mormon because she saw that it talked about Christ and seamed like she could
learn something from it. We got to testify again about how the Book of Mormon
has power, because it's the word of God. I testified about how much it's helped
me in y life to know who Christ is. I was just about to ask for her number when
the bus came...ugh!!!!! How annoying. But it was still a really good contact and
we got to give her a Book of Mormon!
Also, I don't know if I already told you this. But every hour in Oradea
they play this song (Melodia Iancului) that apparently reminds al the Hungarians
that the Romanians won the war when they were fighting over who would get
Oradea. Sora Tobler and I love it...except for when it gets stuck in our heads
and then we sing it all the time and it gets realy annoying...haha.
It's so amazing to me how Heavenly Father really leads us to those people
who are going to accept some kind of invitation to come closer to Him. I've seen
many times this week how He has led us to people who either accepted a Book of
Mormon or simply accepted an English card and then told us they would come.
"Through small and simple things are great things brought to pass."
Thanks for all the pictures, Dad! I loved them! And thanks so much for the
update on everything, Marshall. I kind of felt like I was in the dark on all the
changes in our family. I mean, everyone's pretty good at keeping me updated, but
sometimes I just really don't know where everyone is and what they're doing! So
it was nice to read about your life. And felicitari on all that you and Ashley
are doing!
Also, Happy Birthday to Jude! He's already 1?!?! That's crazy. Just
crazy.
La Multi Ani, Tata! Cati ani ai acuma? Am uitat...dar am cunoscut pe cineva
care are aceasi zi de nastere pe care o ai tu. Deci, felicitari, multa multa
sanatate, fericire, si noroc in aceasta an urmator!
(translation..exact translation...haha..."To many years, Dad! How many
years do you have now? I forgot...but I met someone which has the same day of
birth which she have you (adica: you have). So, congratulations, much much
health, happiness, and luck in this year following."
La multi an cu sanatate
sa va dea Domnul tot ce doriti
Zile senine si fericire
la mult ani sa traiti
mult ani traiasca, multi ani traiasca,
LA MULTI ANI!
cine sa traiasca, cine sa traiasca
LA MULTI ANI!
Tata sa traiasca, Tata sa traiasca
LA MULTI ANI!!!!
Yep...have fun with that. It's the Romanian Birthday song!
Va iubesc!!!!
Sora Merrill
