another amazing one...

Buna familia mea,

What a neat week I've had. Hopefully I can fully express the joy I've felt this week. Sadly, I don't think I will be able to, but I'll do my best.

I'll start with my trip to Bucuresi. After the fourteen-hour trip from Chisinau to Bucuresti, we made it there on Wednesday morning at 5:45am safe and sound. I love train rides. I get really giddy and excited and usually can't sleep because of my excitement that I am that I'm traveling through eastern Europe on a train. Who else gets experiences like these? Well... lots of people do actually, but I never in my life thought that I would. I love it! When we arrived in Romania, two of the Elders didn't get off of the train in time and the train left again with them still in it. It was a funny, dramatic experience that all ended well. I'm not sure they thought it was as funny as I did, but I was laughing pretty hard. Poor Elders.

My time in Bucuresti was wonderful. It makes my heart so happy to see and spend a sliver of time with missionaries that I love so dearly. I draw strength from them and their experiences. It's so neat to sit and talk with someone who is experiencing something so similar to what I'm experiencing. It's actually very comforting. I couldn't possibly begin to describe the amount of love I have for these missionaries that I serve with.

Wednesday afternoon I got to meet my new companion who just arrived from the MTC. Her name is Sora Peterson, she is from Moses Lake, Washington and I happen to love everything about her! She is absolutely darling. We have had very similar experiences in our lives and relate to each other very well. She is so sweet, so humble and so ready and willing to learn. It's funny to me how my relationship with each companion is so different. No two people are the same. We are all so good in our own different ways. I was talking to Sora Rivera in Bucuresti on Wednesday and we had a good conversation about how everyone has something within them that makes them good and makes them amazing. There is no recipe for a good person; there's not an outline or a check-list. We all have different things within us that make us wonderful. I'm so excited for this transfer and what will come of it. Sora Peterson and I already get along splendidly.

I have loved introducing Sora Peterson to our investigators and showing her around the beautiful city of Chisinau. I absolutely love this city. This country, these people, this branch... it's all so beautiful. I was so worried when I left Arad that I just wouldn't love the people of my next area as much as I loved the people in Arad, but Heavenly Father has opened my eyes to help me see the beauty of this city and the people here. I could stay here the rest of my mission. :)

Sora Peterson is going to be wonderful for our 14 year old girls. They love her already and, of course, she loves them. I don't know how you couldn't love these girls. We had a lesson with them yesterday about the steps we need to take in this life and why. I felt like I was having a young women's lesson with these four girls. They were reading the scriptures with us, writing the answers on the board, answering the questions. It was beautiful. Two of them came to church yesterday. It makes my heart so happy to see them progressing. Their desires to learn and grow and to be baptized are growing. We are working with them to talk to their parents still. Some are hesitant and afraid of what their parents will say if they tell them they want to be baptized, and a few of them promised they would talk to their parents this week. We are praying ever so intently for the hearts of their parents to be open enough for the spirit to enter. The quality of each of these girls' lives could be so much better through companionship of the Holy Ghost and through making that promise with Heavenly Father. I know that He is just waiting to pour out blessings upon them.

I wish I could go into detail with all of our investigators. I am pretty sure I have told you a little about Lilia and Vitali. They are progressing, slowly but surely. We extended the baptismal invitation on Saturday and they told us they would think about it. It wasn't a "yes", but it wasn't a "no". We will be meeting with them tomorrow. I'm praying that they have made room in their lives for the spirit to manifest to them of the steps they need to take.

Remember my cockroach story?! Not to worry! We have moved apartments!!! We have two less Elders in the city this transfer and so we took the apartment they left behind. Oh my. I cannot tell you how nice this apartment is in comparison to our last. I feel like I'm living in a palace. Okay, I'm being dramatic, but it is wonderful to have a cockroach-free place and that doesn't smell like an old lady. We got all of our things moved in and I quite like it.

I'm not sure whether I mentioned it last week, but Elder Groberg who served with me in Arad is now here in Chisinau. He is in a "zebra-ship", meaning his companion is a Russian-speaking missionary and Elder Grober is a Romanian-speaking missionary. Kind of a funny situation but also pretty neat.

Tomorrow is Zone Training meeting and I've been asked to give a 15 minute presentation on goals... please pray that it goes well!

I know I've said this before, but I love being a missionary. I don't every want to not be on a mission. Please, let me stay forever. I feel productive as a missionary and so consecrated as I fill each hour of my day with the work of the Lord. Who signed me up for this and why didn't they sign me up sooner? :)

I love you all. I miss you like you wouldn't believe, but I am happy. I am oh-so happy. Thank you so much for all of your support, love and prayers. I promise I feel them and am so grateful for them.

Like I thought, this email didn't even kind of contain the propper expression of joy that I have felt from this last week. Apologies. I guess I will try again next week.

Va pup,
Sora Cook 

PS, the other day, we get a call from a member in the branch asking us if we can come to the mall to help her with a service project. Not having done our service hours yet, we gladly went to the mall to help her out. She failed to tell us that the "service" we would be doing would be dressing up like princesses and walking around the mall and taking pictures with people in trade for a small donation to an orginization. I called up President Hill and got the "go ahead". It was really awkward and funny. The look on the Elders' faces as they walked in the mall and saw us dressed up like princesses was priceless. Little did they know, she also had prince costumes. Probably the weirdest service project I have ever done. hahah. We did get some pretty awesome pictures, though.

Lilia, Sora Heim, and me

Me and Sora Peterson right after we found out I would be training her

Sora Heim and I at the train station saying goodbye. 

Who signed me up for this?

Oh hey family! :)

Let's see, where to begin? I could start with the news of transfers or I could start with how I adore this branch here in Chisinau; I could start with the story of the cockroach that I found in my bed this morning or I could start with the beautiful lesson we had with our wonderful 14 year old girls yesterday. Yes, I think I'll start there.

We were able to meet with fetitele noastre (our little girls) yesterday. I love any chance I get to meet with these strong, beautiful girls. I wish they could see how strong and beautiful they truly are. During our lesson, I asked each one of them what they want from meeting with us, if they truly are interested in the gospel. I was surprised by their answers. I'm grateful for their honesty and now have a greater direction on how we can help them. Mihaiela and Valeria are much more interested than I had realized. I felt so much love for them as I sat with them. I'm usually pretty good about keeping my emotions together in lessons, but I couldn't stop the tears as I told them how much I love them and how much their Father in Heaven loves them, telling them that they truly are His daughters and He wants them to be apart of this church and experience the joy of the gospel in their lives. I saw in each of their eyes something I've never seen before as they listened to us bear testimony to them that they are daughters of God. As if they knew it, but didn't realize they knew it. I can't explain it. There was a certain glow in their eyes as they soaked in the fact that they are loved and that they are divine daughters of Heavenly Father. My heart hurt a little as they told us that they've never felt more love from anyone in their lives as they feel from us, but also so grateful that we can be that for them in their lives right now. My mind can't comprehend the love that I have for these girls. I so wish I didn't have to take three days out our week for traveling down to Bucuresti this week. I would meet with them every single day if I could. My goal is to get a lesson with their families. I want them to have this gospel in their homes so that they can feel that loved on a daily basis. 

Saturday we had a branch activity for the anniversary of the Relief Society. It was wonderful! The missionaries didn't plan one single thing. Members came early and decorated. Members brought neighbors. They prepared food. They came! This all probably seems pretty usual for you, but this is a big deal. I was able to see the strength of this branch and it's members. Although still building a foundation, our members are giving everything they can to build the church here in Moldova. They are dedicating and sacrificing their time. It's beautiful. No, they aren't perfect and there is still plenty of things we get to work on, they are truly magnificent! Please don't tell me that I have to leave in six weeks. I don't want to. Our branch president, President Covali, is wonderful. He and his wife both served missions and have two beautiful children. They only speak to their kids in English, which means their two children speak and understand English, Russian, and Romanian. So neat. Going over to their home was a beautiful experience. It warmed by heart to see a young family actively living the gospel and raising their children in a righteous home. I want so badly for every family in the world to have that love and that peace in their home that the gospel brings. One step at a time... 

Yes, it's true. I found a cockroach in my bed this morning!!! I was sitting on my bed, painting my nails, listening to Elder Holland's amazing talk from last General Conference (ps, who else is so excited that General Conference is only a few weeks away?! Oh my, I can't wait.) so there I was, minding my own business, when all of the sudden, I see this massive (no, I'm not exaggerating) cockroach crawling out from under my neatly made covers and it's heading right at me. So of course, I did what any human would do and I screamed at the top of my lungs. "SORA HEIM!!!! COME GET IT!!!!" My wonderful, brave companion comes running in to see what the fuss is about, assesses the situation and grabs the dustpan and broom and rescues me from the monster on my bed. All the while, I'm screaming at the fact that I almost got attacked by a beast of a cockroach and that it was in my bed!! Oh gawl. I am disgusted just thinking about it. I immediately put all my sheets and bedding in the washer and sprayed our entire appartment. Oh the life of a missionary in the Romania/Moldova mission! Bleh! 

There is a member here from the United States who works at the embassy. He is in the branch presidency and invited us and the Romanian Elders over for dinner last night. It was so surreal. Not only is his home is so american, but we ate all American food from all American brands. It was as if I had stepped back into the U.S. for an hour. Is that really what my life was like before this? Was the toilet paper really that soft before my mission? Brown sugar wasn't just a figment of my imagination? He took us upstairs to his food closet (he gets shipments from costco every month and has a TON of food) and he let us take whatever we wanted. Of course, I took the frosted mini wheats, barbeque sauce, some brown sugar and a lot of chrystal light packets. And some toilet paper. 

So, transfers are this week. Again. Why is it that I only got to have four weeks with Sora Heim. Definitely not fair!!!! She is wonderful and I will be so sad to say goodbye to her as she heads back to Timisoara to train the new missionary who is oh so lucky to have her as a trainer! I have learned so much from Sora Heim and have loved every bit of her personality. She is unlike any of my other companions. I loved it. I loved the ways we get to learn from people who are so different from us. I promised before my mission to love every single one of my companions and Heavenly Father has just made the promise so dang easy for me to keep. I'm not just being positive, they have all been amazing. Yes, italics and bold lettering were necessary. 

As hard as it is to say goodbye to Sora Heim, I am sure I will be saying the same thing in six weeks about my next companion, whoever she is. I will meet her on Wednesday after her long flight from the United States. I am excited to have a brand new missionary again as my companion. I love their faith and excitement!! 

I'm sorry this email was a little less than inspiring. I meant to share all the wonderful things I am learning from my studies, but I got distracted by writing about cockroaches and american food. I promise those aren't the priority over the spiritual enlightenment in my life, but those were definitely more out of the norm than my spiritual enlightenment. I felt like I had to share about it! (PS... I think I use italics way too much. It just does such a good job at showing emphasis.) :) 

I will share only a bit about what I've been studying due to lack of time. I've been studying the difference between wisdom and knowledge. It's still something I'm studying,so maybe I'll share more of my thoughts on it next week. I would love to hear any thoughts that you all have. You are all so insightful! :)

2 Corinthians 12:9-10. Any thoughts on how I can better understand and apply these verses?

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

President Hill's insights: "I think the answer may lie in Ether 12:27 (and other verses around that one). We are given weakness that we might rely upon the Lord. Hence, if Paul has weaknesses (including infirmities, reproaches, necessities, etc.) he must rely on God for help. And that is his strength. So, ironically, the more the weakness in physical things (like his "thorn in the flesh"), the more the strength in spiritual things. To me this explains the "enabling power" of the Atonement."

I agree with everything he said. This is something I plan to study more. I love the way that Paul wrote it in those verses. So beautiful and so powerful. 

Still loving missionary work and still marveling at the passing time and still praying for it to slow down. I miss you all dearly. I hope you have a beautiful week. 

all my love, 

Sora Cook 

PS. Just looked at the clock and realized it's the 18th. 11 months has really already gone by? 11 weeks maybe, but not 11 months. 

Sora Heim and I in front of the cathedral right accross the street from our appartment

Arc de Triumf. I can't get enough of this city. This is also right outside of our apartment in the middle of downtown. 

Us and two of my favorite young women in the branch, Victoria and Sevghi. 

Spring Fever!

Buna ziua!!!

Has the whether been as beautiful there as it has been here? I hope so. With the exception of today, it's been so beautiful here. I cannot wait for springtime and to see this beautiful city when it is all green and blossoming. There is something about this city... it's just so beautiful! The people here say that when God created the earth, He forgot to make Moldova, so He just grabbed a little piece of the Garden of Eden and placed it here. I smiled when I heard it because looking around this city, you would truly think that was the case. It's gorgeous.

Daylight savings hasn't hit us yet. For some reason daylight savings here isn't until March 31st. I don't understand why it would be different, but then again, I don't really understand daylight savings...

This week, we were able to meet with Katea a few different times. She is wonderful. Our first lesson of the week with her was on Tuesday and she told us that after our last lesson with her, she didn't feel good at all. She didn't like the way she felt inside and she had been avoiding us. She didn't come to church, she avoided our phone calls, she didn't even want to read from the Book of Mormon. You would think that hearing this would have made me feel disappointed, but the light in her eyes told me something had changed that negative feeling that she had had the previous week. I asked her why she decided to call and meet with us that day and she told me that she missed us and the way she felt around us and she just knew that she needed to call us. We testified to her how much her Heavenly Father loves her and how badly He desires her happiness and that Satan will do anything to keep her from that happiness. We're working to help her fully comprehend how much her Father in Heaven truly does love her. At that age, it's so important to understand God's love for you. At every age it is important, but I feel like those years are so delicate. I'm so grateful to be working with her. Her dad is still very much against her getting baptized. It breaks my heart because I know she so badly wants to. How neat it would be for her entire family to be blessed with the Gospel in their lives. We're still praying for her dad and hoping to get a lesson with her family this week. Cross your fingers!

We have a few new investigators this week. Two of them, Vitali and Lilia, are a young couple in their twenties who I absolutely adore! We found them from our English classes and set up lessons with them outside english and were able to meet with them three times this week. They both ask such amazing questions and are keeping all of their commitments. We talked to them about baptism and they told us they would pray about it. They are leaving for Maryland for the summer to do Work and Travel. I look forward to continuing working with them and watching them grow.

Another one of our new investigators, Vicotria, is one of my new favorite people. She is 22, has a 2 year old daughter and has accomplished so much in her life, but also experienced a lot of trials. In our last lesson she explained to us that she has a hard time understanding why Heavenly Father allows things to happen but that she so badly wants to have the kind of faith that we have, but she just isn't there quite yet. Our next lesson will be all about the plan of salvation and the purpose of this life. We plan on sharing with her D&C 121:1-4 when Joseph Smith cries out in prayer during his trials and then sharing how Heavenly Father responded to his prayer in D&C 122:7-9. Probably my favorite of sections in the Doctrine and Covenants are these chapters when Joseph Smith is in Liberty Jail. They have been the answer to many of my prayers and comforted me during many of my trials. I hope and pray Victoria, too, can understand God's love for her and how dear she is to Him.

I heard a scripture quoted the other day in district meeting that says that "there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart." (D&C 6:16) When this was quoted, I thought to myself if only God knows my thoughts and intents, than that means that Satan doesn't know my thoughts, which is something I have always wondered about. But then I thought, if Satan doesn't know the thoughts and intents of my heart, how does he know how to tempt me?? How does he know what thoughts to place in my mind? And instantly, I thought about a scripture that I came across and wrote in my journal last week. Proverbs 23:7 "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". Meaning, I think, the thoughts we have, the desires of our hearts, drive our actions. Satan knows how to tempt us because of our actions which are determined by our thoughts. It all starts with the what the desires of our hearts. I love this, mostly because I've been studying righteous desires for the last 4 transfers and have come to realize how much truly does depend on our desires and our intentions. I hope this makes as much sense in words as it does in my head.

I found yet another scripture that inspires me to make and set goals. I love how so much of what I study all goes back to goals. D&C 133:15 says "But verily, thus saith the Lord, let not your flight be in haste, but let all things be prepared before you; and he that goeth, let him not look back lest sudden destruction shall come upon him." Doesn't that just scream goals?! "Let all things be prepared before you". In other words, set your goals. Have a direction. Press toward the mark. "Let him not look back". Don't let the failures of the past determine the plans of the future. Of course, learn from the past, but don't live in it, continuously looking back, but rather, look forward and set plans for the future. "A man is never more godlike than when he is planning." I love goals. I love the direction I receive when I make goals and the peace I feel as I "prepare the way before [me]".

Okay, family, I love you. I hope you are all doing well. I trust that Heavenly Father is watching over you and guiding your lives. I am grateful for my eternal family. I miss you all more than you know, but I am loving where I am with all my heart. I love missionary work and I love that I get to be apart of it. I can't believe we're at the end of another transfer. Granted, this transfer was a lot shorter than most, but I'm sad to have to say goodbye to Sora Heim. I love her so dearly and learn to appreciate her more and more every single day. She is such a great missionary and has so much to give these people.

Va pup. Ceau. Succes. Numai bine. O zi buna.

Va iubesc,
Sora Cook

The sunset from our church (ignore the construction below)

my new favorite contacting park (it reminds me of Austin)

Us and our gorgeous 14 year old girls. Me, Katea, Sora Heim, Valeria, and Mihaiela

Loaves and fishes

Draga mea familia,

My heart is quite full as I write this email. I love reading your testimonies and experiences through your emails. Thank you so much for taking the time to write them. They mean more than you know. You are all incredible. I love seeing your growth through your experiences and learing from your examples. I find myself asking far too often why I am so blessed.

Chisinau is lovely. I love this city. The architecture, the trees that will be blooming and beautiful within the next few weeks, the branch is wonderful, our investigators are amazing, the missionaries are great, and the people are so open. I'm still not used to the Russian, but the way they speak Romanian is quite adorable. They have a very different accent here than the western accent that I'm used to. Compare it to a person from California's accent to a person from New Jersey's accent. So different that it almost doesn't sound like the same language. But, thankfully, it is! I love that Romanian is becoming natural for me. It's always a relief when I hear someone speaking Romanian rather than Russian. I didn't realize how well I understood Romanian until I came here and started hearing Russian.

We were able to meet with Katia, one of our 14-year-old investigators, this last week. She is so wonderful. I wish I could somehow send a glimpse of her spirit and the light in her eyes as she is learning about the gospel. In the lesson previous to our lesson this week, we asked her to start the Book of Mormon and she didn't make time to do it, so we read 1Nephi 1 in our lesson with her. It was wonderful. Her understanding of the scriptures is incredible. She recapped the entire chapter perfectly. We asked her if she knew the Book of Mormon was true and if she had prayed about whether or not our message is true. She told us she hadn't but that she loved meeting with us and she feels as if all of her problems disappear as she walks into the church to meet with us. We invited her to kneel and pray with us and as she said the sweetest, most humble of prayers, I felt the spirit manifesting to me personally how much Heavenly Father loves Katia and that He is taking care of her. We asked her if she knew the church was true, if she would be baptized. She hesitated for a second. I know she knows it's true, so I looked her in the eyes and said "Katia, what is holding you back from being baptized?" She told us she wants to be baptized so badly because she knows it's all true, but that her parents will never allow her to be baptized, especially her dad. We read 1Nephi 3:7 with her and told her that Heavenly Father prepares a way for His commandments to be fullfilled. I promised to pray for her parents and that Heavenly Father is watching over her. I love her so dearly. I look forward to every chance I get to see her and feel her spirit.

We also got to meet with another 14 year old girl named Nastia, who happens to be agnostic. Adica, she believes that God probably exists, but that there is absolutely no way for anyone to know for sure whether or not He truly does exist. Our lesson with her was different than any other lesson I've ever had. I watched her as she sat on the couch, with her arms crossed, open up throughout the lesson as we talked to her about our purpose as missionaries is to share a message and invite others to come unto Christ and is never to "convince" anyone. We weren't really sure why we needed to talk to her about our purpose and our decisions to come on missions, but it was neat to watch her open up and get involved in the lesson as we told her our testimonies of the gospel. We invited her to pray at the end to ask God for herself whether or not he existed; that we could tell her all day that we know He exists, but that she needed to ask for herself. I was shocked when she agreed to pray with us. We all knelt down and she started her prayer. She started praying in Romanian but because Russian is her first language, she stopped half way through and asked if she could do it in Russian so that she could express herself more easily. I learned a few things in this prayer. 1. That Heavenly Father truly does listen to each of His children. Although I couldn't understand a word she said in her prayer, I know that Heavenly Father did. 2. That I have never really asked for myself whether or not God does exist. There has never been a doubt that He exists. I never felt it was something I needed to ask Him because I already knew the answer. But, we're told to ask for our testimonies to be strengthened, even in things we have already gained a testimony of. So that night and every night since, I have asked Heavenly Father to help me strengthen my testimony of His existance. As I've done so, it has been so neat to see the evidence all around me that we truly do have a loving Heavenly Father. Of course, this is something I already knew and never questioned, but as I have sought to deepen my understanding and testimony of this concept, my eyes have been opened to see so many wonderful evidences that God does exist and that He loves us and is our Father in Heaven. After our lesson with Nastia, we encouraged her to keep praying. After seeing her at english on Saturday, I asked if she had been praying. She told me she doesn't have time to pray and I told her that unless she makes that time for God, she'll never really know whether he exists. Whether or not her perspective ever changes, of course I hope it does, but if it doesn't, I will always be grateful for that lesson with her.

Some things I learned this week from studying the scriptures... First of all, D&C 67:3. I don't have time to go onto lds.org to paste the scripture so I will try to quote it as far as I remember it. Christ told them why they weren't receiving the answers they were looking for and told them "there were fears in your hearts, and this is the reason ye did not receive." I read that and stopped and thought about all the fears I have and how those fears are keeping me from receiving the answers that I so desprately desire. It made me analyze how I can better apply faith in my life and especially in missionary work. There are so many fears of not being the missionary I could be or not finding who Heavenly Father wants me to find or fears of my investigators not progressing the way they should. This is a work of faith and hope. There is no room for fear and as long as fear exists, the work won't progress and the answers will not be received. I'm doing my best to apply this in my life, but more importantly, in my misisonary work. Faith and hope, it's something I am striving for!

Oh my, time is passing. There's just not enough of it to share all the insights I have from this week! Oh gawl.

I love in 2 Nephi 4:35 (again, only quoting what I remember, sorry) but it says that "God will give liberally to him that asketh. My god will give me if I ask not amiss." I love this verse. I love, love, love it. The cross reference for this verse was Helaman 10:5 when God tells Nephi that all that he asks will be granted unto him because God knows that Nephi would never ask for anything contrary to God's will. I love the thought of completely handing my will over to the Lord and aligning my will with His. It's such a beautiful notion. Sometimes, so hard to apply and grasp, but a very beautiful notion. Along with faith and hope, I am truly, truly wanting to apply this in my life. I want more than anything to be the best instrament in God's hands but I can't do that unless my will is aligned with His. It's difficult, but not impossible.

I love the life of a missionary. I love waking up at 6:30, getting myself ready for the day while listening to a talk, studying the gospel, and then going out in a very unfamiliar place and talking to unfamiliar people about my Savior. I know that He is watching over all His missionaries. Is there really going to come a day when this won't be my life anymore? How come I only get a year and a half of this? It's not enough time! More often than not, I feel very inadequate to be sharing this perfect message. In those times, I say a quiet little prayer and can almost hear Heavenly Father telling me "Aly, breathe, you're doing okay. Just keep giving me everything you have and I will make it enough." I know that as we just give ourselves to the Lord, all of our hearts, holding nothing back He will make our efforts enough and He will make us enough. Without Him, we could never be enough. Ya know, like loaves and fishes. Without Christ, they were not enough to feed those thousands. We're like loaves and fishes.

Sora Heim and I are doing well. I find more ways to love her every single day. I'm grateful that I get to serve alongside her. She has a very strong testimony and I love the way she teaches the gospel and the way she teaches me.

I love you all so dearly. You are all in my prayers individually (it makes for a long prayer... there's lots of you!). I'm so grateful for you all. I hope you feel the sincerity in that last sentance. Unfortately, words don't describe it well, so I'm praying that Heavenly Fathre will allow you to feel my gratitude and love for you. Keep being amazing.

Va iubesc pe voi,
Sora Cook

parts of Chisinau. This first picture is just a glimpse of the architecture here. All the buildings are this beautiful.

Arcul de triumf

This is a "mortisor" (I might have just spelled that wrong, I'm not really even positive if that's the word for it.) but in March, they celebrate spring and women. March 8th is women's day! Everyone gives these pins to wear on your shirt. Usually the pins consist of red and white string tied together. It's fun and everyone is selling them everywhere, so of course, Sora Heim and I bought one for each other!