When In Romania: Looking forward with faith

Ceau family!

I'm really not even sure where to start this email. If it seems a little disorganized and scattered, that is a pretty good indication of how my brain has been the last few days. I apologize in advance.

I guess I'll start with my last few days in Arad. It was difficult to leave. We were able to meet with Tina on Tuesday morning. My last lesson with her was beautiful. We talked about families and temples and I was able to share with her my testimony on eternal families and share pictures with her of my beautiful family. She loved seeing pictures of my nieces and nephews and told me how angelic they are and often kissed their pictures. As we talked about our families and the blessings of temples, she asked us what would happen to her parents who never got to hear the gospel in their lives, which was the perfect segway of redeeming the dead. She cried as we told her that after she gets baptized and goes to the temple for herself, she can go back and do that same work for her family who never got to haer and accept the gospel. It was beautiful and such a testimony builder for me of the importance of temple work and the blessings we receive from temples. Heavenly Father is such a kind and loving God. He has prepared a way for every single one of His beloved children to return home to Him. This is something I already knew, it has just been reaffirmed to me throughout my time here and my testimony grows deeper and deeper.

As I sat in my lesson with Tina, I felt a lot of peace about leaving Arad. Earlier that week, as I was packing, I was having a few break downs about leaving. It wasn't that I didn't trust Arad in the hands of my beautiful companion or that I didn't trust it in the hands of my Heavenly Father, but I felt like it was my city and I want so badly for it to be taken care of. But as I sat in that lesson with Tina, Heavenly Father told me through the spirit and through that peace in my heart that all will be well and Arad will be fine and I had nothing to worry about. Since then, I've drawn a lot of strength from that peace I felt in that moment. There's times where that peace leaves, but I go back to how I felt in that moment and remember that all is well and all will always be well as I continue to trust in my Father in Heaven and His plan.

So, Wednesday afternoon we had lunch with one of my favorite of people from Arad, Paula, who I told a little bit about last week, and then we caught our train to Bucuresti! It was a long train ride, but we found ways to make it fun. Card games, talking, laughing, taking pictures. It was fun, but I was so very excited to get off that train that seemed so much smaller at the end of the trip than it did at the beginning. (We did get to see the Danub and the Serbian border on the train ride, that was neat!)

Thursday was the mission conference. For the first time in a long time (and probably the last) our entire mission gathered together for mission conference. Most of the time, they split up the mission and do one conference for half the mission on one day and a conference for the other half the next day, but because of transfers and all the weird changes going on with the length of transfers, they arranged it for us all to go at the same time. Kent F. Richards from the Presidency of the Area of Seventy came and spoke to us. I learned a lot and am grateful he and his wife took the time to come and speak to us. The spirit taught me more than anyone at that conference. I spent most of my time writing down thoughts and impressions that came from the spirit than actually writing what was being said. Maybe I should have been a little more attent, but I feel like I learned exactly what I needed to.

It was so wonderful to get to see my dear friends in my mission and so difficult to say goodbye to them at the end of those two days in Bucuresti. We were supposed to leave Thursday night for Chisinau, but our Zone Leaders forgot to tell us that we still needed to buy tickets, and by the time we found out, it was too late. Unfortunately, there's only one train a day that goes to Chisinau, so we had to wait until Friday night to leave Bucuresti. But we made it. The train ride from Bucuresti to Chisinau was long! Real long. The twelve of us didn't even kind of sleep that night. It was way too hot and with the border control in the middle of the night coming to wake you up to check all your bags, sleeping would have been pointless. So, instead of sleep, we got some really good conversations in. We talked a lot about goals (they knew exactly what to talk about to keep me awake) and I shared a lot of my vision for my mission and my life and I was able to express my passion for goals and learn from them from their vision and goals that they have. It was very inspiring.

My district is quite a bit larger than my district was in Arad. I went from a four missionary district to a 10 missionary district. All but one companionship are Russian speaking missionaries. (Not including our companionship.) There is an Elder Koch in my district... Funny. My companion is Sora Heim. She is from Washington and I love her. We are very different, but we get along great! I'm learing lots from her!

Okay, time is running out and I still have so much to say.

Things are so different here. Chisinau is absolutely beautiful!! I know I will love it here. It is very difficult being in such an unfamiliar place. I keep expecting to see familiar faces, familiar scenery, and hear a familiar language, but it's just not happening. I feel incredibly alone being in such an unfamiliar place, but I am positive it will soon become familiar. No comfort in the growth zone, right? I'm definitely growing. I love any opportunity to rely completely on my Heavenly Father. Times like this allow me to rely on Him completely because I'm really not left with another choice. It is difficult, but so rewarding in the end.

We have a lot of investigators right now. A lot. It's wonderufl. 4 of them are cute, adorable 14 year old girls. I've only met with a few of them so far, but I'm excited to get to know the rest. One of them, whom I already love, is Katia. She is 14 and has the sweetest spirit. She has such a desire to learn and grow in the gospel. I am so excited to get to know her even better and to watch her progress even more. Please keep her in your prayers. She has a rough home situation and needs all the prayers she can get.

Yesterday, Sora Heim and I didn't go to the branch here in Chisinau, we were able to go to Orhei, a close-by city, to see how the relief society is doing there and while we were there, the branch president, who is a missionary, asked us to speak in sacrament meeting. It was wonderful. The branch there is quite small (10 members in sacrament meeting, 3 priesthood holders-2 of them were missionaries), but the relief society is wonderful. I talked to President Hill and we will be going there about once a month to help the relief society.

While in Orhei, I was able to meet one of the missionaries who served her mission in Romania and was the missionary who found Paula Dronca from Arad. It was a tender mercy to be able to meet her and thank her for the work she did in finding Paula and be able to talk to her about the progress Paula has made the last few weeks. I love little tender mercies like this.

I got my birthday package. Thank you so dang much!! It was so perfect!! The clothes, the make up, the candy, the peanut butter, the letters, the pictures! It was all wonderful! You are all incredible. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

So much more to say, but not enough time to say it!!! I love you all so much. I'm so excited for all the changes that are happening, both in my life and in yours. Daddy, I'm so excited for your new calling! You will do amazing things in that singles ward!! And so neat you get to serve with Bishop London. :)

You are all in my prayers. I love you with all my heart.

1-4-3,
Sora Cook

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