When In Romania: 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.