Five Month Mark - Headed to Bacau (Region of Transylvania) for Halloween!

What a crazy week! Ah I felt like there was so much going on - but looking back it was a pretty laid back, spiritually incredible week(: 

Wednesday we all headed down to Bucharest for a Zone Conference - and it (again) was amazing. We talked a lot about how Elder Ballard is coming in like 3 weeks (I AM SO PUMPED FOR THIS!) and how we can set a lot of goals that can help us to change and become who we want to be. Both as missionaries and as people. 

We also got a visit from a Senior Couple (the K Nelsons) and they checked and inspected our apartment to see how clean it was, to see if anything was broken, etc. haha ah they were in for a treat. The poor apartment that we stay in is SO old in the mission. So many missionaries have stayed there - and so several things were broken, ruined, missing, etc. Poor Elder nelson had a checklist that he was suppose to go over - and so I felt so bad as he would ask "Any cockroaches?" Yes.... "Any recent cases with the CO2 Monitor going off?" Yes..... "Is this sink broken?" Yes.... "Is that your smoke detector outside of the window??" Yes... hahahaha ahh I felt so bad. He kept teasing us though and totally understood haha so all is well(: 

But on a lighter note. We were able to see Grace again yesterday for the first time in 4 weeks! Ah she is doing SO good! She is continuing to read in the Book of Mormon, and we went through the entire Restoration lesson yesterday and it was SO cool! She just gets it. She had several great questions about who Joseph Smith was - and then she applied herself to it. She wants to come meet all the Nigerians who come to church next week - and we also found out that she had a son who passed away when he was 2 years old - so when we have the Plan of Salvation lesson with her (hopefully soon) that will be incredible(: 

This week we are headed to Bacau (region of Transylvania) and its Halloween so more good things to come! I hit my 5 month mark this week and I can't believe it has already flown by so quickly! Just know how much I love and think about and miss you all! You're all incredible! Have a Happy Halloween!

Love,

Sora Armstrong

My ROCKIN Halloween Socks from my incredible Aunt and Uncle(: Another Sister in my district also got a Halloween package - the EXACT SAME ONES! hahaha so we didn't even have it planned but we wore them totally on the same day(: Gettin into that halloween spirit(: 

Learning to Speak "Pigeon" in Romania

Buna Ziua(: 

My family and friends(: I hope that you have all had incredible weeks - and I cannot wait to hear all about them soon(: 

So first off - some super cool news! Elder Ballard is coming! To our mission!!! In like 4 weeks! He is going to do some big seminars and meetings - and I AM SO PUMPED! He is going to do a special one just for all the missionaries too - SO IM FREAKIN OUT(: haha it will be so exciting - I'll keep you posted(: 

This week was a really chill week - Sora Koth was pretty sick for like three days so we stayed home - and I attempted to make homemade curry and ice cream (both didn't work out) and I updated the area book a lot. haha so pretty fun stuff. 

We were able to go and have some lessons though which was good - they were all at a place called "Hotel Flora" which is a very 80's looking hotel along popular beach called "Mamaia" here in Constanta. It is also where over 300 college students from Nigeria live. THEY ARE SO COOL! We have a recent convert there - Mercy - who is a ROCKSTAR! Ah she is SO good! We had an incredible lesson with her about the 10 commandments and keeping the Sabbath Day holy - and it was so cool to see her perspective on things because she knows the bible SO well. She added a lot of insight and comments that were ON POINT - I was so proud of her!

She was also able to teach us some phrases in her native language - which is called "Pigeon" which is basically like simplified English haha, but it sounds SO different and SO cool. All the Nigerians speak it to each other - I literally feel like I'm back in college whenever I go to visit any of them. Just a super chill, relaxed, friendly atmosphere. 

About all of them know who the missionaries are - and a few transfers ago we just went around meeting a bunch of them to contact and get new investigators. So I know most of them - and you can totally tell if they recognize you because they will shout from clear down the hall "ARMSTRONG" haha its awesome.They are just such good, fun people ya know?(:  Here are some fun pigeon phrases for you: 

Aufano - Hello

How you do - How are you doing

I wan chop - I want food 

I do fine - I'm doing so good

Also this week we have been talking a lot about gratitude with a lot of our members and investigators. Its a super simple - yet powerful principle. Its super awesome that we have Thanksgiving to say what we are grateful for - but its also good to be grateful all year round(: And we end up being happier too. There is a super cool promise about that too in D&C 78:15 - I challenge you to read it and think about what you're grateful for this week(: 

I love you guys! Have a wonderful week(: 

Sora Armstrong

(Me and my cute companion, Sora Koth)

(Sunset in Constanta) 

(These hang on almost every, single door. The Orthodox priest comes to each house and blesses them. Then he leaves a crown of thorns outside their door). 

(What a gypsy front door looks like....)

(Sora Trebas and I took the phrase quite literally). 

(Sora Corina, a less active member, pulled out a surprise for me. She had a missionary name tag with "Sora Corina" on it. I told her that we needed to be companions sometime soon). 

Fall in Romania...Block Knocking in the Rain!

Family and Friends(: 

Buna Ziua! Ah fall is finally upon us! It is AMAZING! I am SO pleased that this heat is finally starting to simmer down - and it has been incredible to take a small break from the humidity. It has been raining here like crazy - and don't get me wrong, I LOVE the rain - but the thing is...Romanians don't. They hide and they freak out because of "the current" and so they cancel on us and hide in their blocks haha. We had four lessons scheduled for Saturday and every single one of them fell through. But that's okay! We are optimistic haha - we are just going to corner all of these people in their blocks so that they don't have any where else to run away. "block knocking" is kinda sketchy sometimes...so its not really our favorite thing to do - but it has resulted in quite a few people coming to English class or us receiving a return appointment - so we are optimistic for the future(: 

Sora Koth is doing SO incredible here in Constanta - she is seriously a Rockstar and we have already seen so many miracles together! We are teaching this girl named Canan from Turkey - and its so strange because she doesn't speak ANY Romanian, just broken English and Turkish. We've had several lessons with her because she is returning to Turkey next week - but we were able to give her a turkish copy of the Book of Mormon and an English version. It has been SO different teaching Canan because not only is it in English, but it is in VERY simple English. Very very very slow, short sentences. It was really hard for us at first, and really hard to see if she understood - but that is when the Spirit comes in(: Canan is Muslim - and so she had NO clue who Jesus Christ was - or that God was even a Person, mi-ales our Father in Heaven. It has been So cool to really testify of Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father - and of their love for Her and for each of us. It is SO special - and is what this entire gospel revolves around(: It was super special to watch Canan recognize the Spirit for the first time as "I feel good! I feel so happy! My arms and heart are tingly!" haha and then when she said her first prayer - so special. So incredible(: 

That was basically our week - but it was honestly one of the best(: Our English classes are continuing to grow - and it has been SO fun to teach the Advanced class. I have about the same four people who come every time bless their hearts haha - I have a 82 year old man who likes us to call him Presidentele Bush, a 86 year old man who always says that "we are shining," a 32 year old man who has been coming to English for 9 years and always says "Awesome Possum" to everything, and then a member named Lacra who is 16(: We are quite the diverse group - but we seriously have a BLAST everytime haha(: I seriously love this crew #dreamteam

I hope ya'll have an incredible week - and I seriously love each and everyone of you! 

Sora Armstrong 

Crazy Transfer Week!

Family and Friends(:

First off...wasn't General Conference SO GOOD???? I loved...it all haha(: I would love to hear about ya'lls favorite parts!

So I have this INCREDIBLE new companion named Sora Koth - she is from Ohio and is going into her 9th transfer here. She has served in Lasi and then in Chisinau in Moldova and so she's a ROCKSTAR at Romanian. We also like all the same movies, foods, places, and we love being missionaries - so it has been hilarious to kinda compare to see our different teaching styles and what works for planning lessons and things like that. We are so similar but different; which is what makes it fun(: Sora Koth has such a deep love for missionary work, and is not afraid to have a good time and work hard which is AWESOME!(: I am SO excited to be having the opportunity to serve here with her!

This week was crazy - transfer week. 

I was in Bucharest for a long while - and to be honest I loved it there. Its a MASSIVE city and it was so cool to be able to see how the people and cities are so unique in the different parts of Romania. I was able to help out Sora Ivory and President Ivory with some things, take the Metro a couple places, go to a baptism in Mihai Bravu, greet the new four missionaries who came in, and help other missionaries out with getting to their trains and new cities. It was so exciting and so fun! But probably my favorite part of this entire week was getting to come back to Constanta - and watch general conference with some of our amazing members. 

My favorite part of conference was probably what Elder Uchtdorf said in the Saturday Morning Session of General Conference..."Exaltation is our Goal - Discipleship is our Journey"...I LOVED that. 

It was SUCH a problem getting general conference set up for our members because we have half Romanian and half English speakers - so it was quite the treat of translating and running around trying to fix it - but what was SO cool is that right when we got it fixed - the prophet came on to speak. I cannot even begin to describe that peace and relief that entered the room - it was amazing. 

I have such a huge testimony of the power and guidance of President Thomas S. Monson and his apostles. They are truly called of God, and they love us with the deepest, sincerest love. They need our prayers, and they need US(: I encourage you to read their talks - and I promise you that if you have that desire to know if they are truly called Prophets and Apostles of God - you will feel that confirmation. 

I love you all!(: And I hope you all have a splendid, incredible week! 

A New Companion and My First Experience at a Romanian Hospital

Family and Friends(: 

I first off just want to say thank you for all of your prayers and support - not only for me but for all of the missionaries - they make more of a difference than you know(: Love you all!

This week has been a crazy fast one - and so many unexpected and crazy things have been happening with not a lot of time - including email time today haha. So I guess I'll just share my highlight of the week. 

I also found out that I will be staying here in Constanta for another transfer - but I will be serving with Sora Koth who has been serving up in Moldova for the past little while. She seems super incredible - and I am so excited for these next six weeks or more that we will get to share together(: 

So this past week - all four of the sisters here in Constanta have had the chance to go and serve a great investigator friend of ours named Grace from the Philippines. She however, was not in the best of circumstances. She has a giant tumor on the right side of her neck and its been there for quite some time - and her employer or boss (she nannies a little Romanian girl) didn't want to ever give her time off for Grace to get her surgery. Anyways there were a lot of complications and a lot of debate - but grace finally was checked into a hospital - but that hospital. I can't even describe it. To be honest it seemed like a mix of prison, World War 2, and a horror movie all combined into one. Needless to say I am SO grateful for the hospitals that we have back home - 

Anyways - Grace asked that we come visit her - and so while there in the hospital, we found her and found that she had two other roommates. We felt impressed to share our favorite book of mormon verses with her - and why they were important to us - and you could truly feel that spirit SO strong(: I then felt the slight impression that we should sing for her - and so after singing some primary songs and hymns - Grace just opened up and began to sob. She said that we were her only visitors - and that she was so terrified for the surgery that was the next day - and how she was so scared for the price and the sanitation - but how she felt just peace when we sang and when we read from "that book." 

It is so cool how that Spirit is so prominent - and how that light that comes from it can shine so bright and touch peoples hearts who you least expect it. The two roommates in graces room - both asked for "that book" - and we have an appointment with one of them next week(: 

That light - the light of the gospel - can change so many lives if we are worthy of it and if we have that desire to share it(: It can bring so might joy - happiness - and well, LIGHT(: Into peoples lives, and hearts(: So I challenge you this week to share some of your light - to find someone who really needs a friend - to reach out and serve - and before you know it - your light will touch someone who you least expect, but who needs it more than ever(: Heavenly Father totally knows his children - He knows you(: I promise(: And he loves you! 

And I do too(: haha have a great week!

Sora Armstrong 

(At the hospital with Grace) 

Zone Training, Music...and a Romanian Grill!

Family and Friends!

Well to start off, we had a amazing zone training in Bucharest on Wednesday - and we were able to hear about how we can be better missionaries in regards to finding new people and contacting strategies and such. So as we were brainstorming for ideas - the idea of music, as well as the encouragement from many other sister missionaries and president - worked. I bought a guitar. hahaha sorry mom(;

It has actually been really awesome though - and I have really come to see how incredible the power of music is in missionary work and in bringing the Spirit quickly and powerfully. Sora Trebas also has one and so us four were able to go around to a lot of the members and less actives  homes this week, and sing and share a thought from the Book of Mormon to get them pumped about reading it before Christmas as a branch(: And it worked! We received a lot of commitments and promises that people would participate - and I know that it will truly make a difference not only in their individual lives, but also in the branch as a whole.

We also this week got to get together with a lot of the people from the US army base that is here in Constanta - and we had a "Romanian Grill;" Full of mici, arde and pults, mamaliga, goat cheese, covrig, chicken, and watermelon! Not only did I get to learn how to grill - that was quite an adventure - but we also got to have SALSA! haha it was such a treat! The people on the base have an american WalMart type thing, and so when they brought salsa for everyone to share - I think about half of us passed out haha we were so excited(: But what was so cool about meeting with all these people from the base, is that we got to do a different type of missionary work. 

We all went around and shared our experiences with the Book of Mormon and how it has blessed and changed all of our lives - and it was incredible to see the different stories and the different principles of doctrine or testimony that changed each of our lives! The church is so different in the states - but so similar as well. So personal and unique to each of us(: Its awesome(: 

Have an incredible week! and we will see next week if I am staying here in Constanta or if I am headed out somewhere else(: 

Love you guys!

Sora Armstrong

(Eating yummy Covrig in Bucharest)

(Old Bucharest)

(Me and my new guitar)

(Celebrating Sora Armstrong's and Sora Trebas's 'one year mark' with fun drinks)

Who Knew?? Constanta: The Bible Belt of Europe

My amazing family and friends!(:

This week has been quite the week of Learning! and so I guess I'll jump right into it(:

Monday we were able to meet with a new investigator named "Raraș" who is a good friend of one of the members in our branch. Apparently he had been meeting with the missionaries before - five years ago actually - but then started to go deep into drugs and started to hang around some not so good people - and ended up dropping out of the discussions. However, the past few weeks he has been coming to church all on his own and has been completely clean of drugs for years. We asked if he wanted to have the discussions again and he agreed - and we then had a powerful lesson with him on Tuesday. He is SO cool! We asked him what he remembered about the Book of Mormon - and he immediately brought up the Tree of Life. He just went on and on about how he wanted to get there - but how he wanted to know for a sure fact that this was true and it was what he needed to do at this time. You could really tell how important this gospel was for him - and that even though it would require a change - he was more than willing. We are meeting with him again this next week and are SO excited to see what is in store. 

I also had my first lesson of bible bashing this week haha. Not quite what we expected or had planned haha. We were in a lesson with Mercy - a Nigerian who had just gotten back from the Germany temple a few days earlier after doing baptisms for her mom who had passed away. She was BEAMING and GLOWING! I had never seen her so happy - it was so so cool to see that power and spirit and peace that comes from the blessing of this gospel and of temples(: We were in the middle of talking to her about it - and then her friend "Tubo" came in and was like "Let's talk about God" and....things started off great! We were all like YES God loves us and we all love his Son and his Atonement and the Bible! But heres the thing....these Nigerians know the Bible inside and out like you wouldn't believe. Constanta is like the Bible Belt of Europe because they can just throw out verses and principles and prophets like nobody's business. It's quite impressive actually but also insanely frustrating haha. Anyways - he proceeded to talk and question and interrogate us about the law of the tithe - but it was actually Mercy that started to bible bash him back and so Sora Armstrong and I just kinda sat there in a confused state haha. It was so curious to see that the Spirit that we had all had - was gone the minute there was contention. We ended up just bearing our testimonies and inviting him to pray - but I believe I walked away with a much bigger lesson that day.

This past week I have come to realize that desire is key. The desire to change, to grow, to progress, to learn, to become - it all comes from your heart and from YOU! No one can make you change who you are or who you want to be, we all have that free agency to decide. He will not force us. I've seen that especially this week. It could be so easy to go through life and get discouraged and lose that desire to stop doing the little things that help us draw closer to our Heavenly Father - to stop reading the Book of Mormon and stop praying. It to be honest - can be discouraging as a missionary - to have 10 lessons fall through, or sunflower seeds spit on you on the street. But I can testify that if we use that free agency that we have to grow and progress to become better - we will see God work mighty miracles through us and in our lives. I've seen it - and I can promise you that if you have that desire to grow and to continue to press forward with the little things - with that desire - Heavenly Father is going to bless and change and mold us to become the best people that we can become - and help us to reach our divine, eternal potential(: 

I love you all and I hope you have a week full of fun and miracles! 

Keep being Rockstars!!(:

Sora Armstrong

(Usually how our comp pics go haha)

(All the Soras in Constanta with 3 members from the US Army Base)

(This is an Orthodox church that we recieved permission to go into - people call it "Biserica de lemb" or Church of the Lamb.)