the actual BEST WEEK EVER

This week was really great!! We set a baptismal date with Fratele Toth!! It was kind of unexpected. We met up with them and were telling Fratele Toth how we had invited Izabella to be baptized and he was super excited so we invited him! He accepted and said that according to the Book of Mormon that this is the right thing to do! He has read almost the whole Book of Mormon and this week we got to hear a little bit more about his experience sharing at the hospital. He couldn't really see very well because his eyes were hurting so much but he asked his family to bring him the book. The man in the bed next to him was curious and asked him what it was about. After Fratele Toth explained, the man asked him to read it out loud to him. Fratele Toth's copy is in Hungarian so the only thing he could do was try to translate. So in his pain in the hospital room Fratele Toth translated the Book of Mormon for his roommate. The man felt the spirit and asked for a copy of his own. It was clear as he was telling this story that he felt the same joy that we feel as we share the gospel with everyone. I think a really good indicator of the conversion of an individual is their desire to share what they know. This is one of the benefits of asking for referrals. We are then able to see how our people are progressing and then of course find even more people who are searching. Fratele still wants to receive an answer as he continues to pray and he understands that he needs to learn more. We really want to help their family progress together and we're super excited to see the progress they are making. 

We have continued to work closely with the Sandu Family as well! We want to help them come to church on time because they are never there for the sacrament, which is the most important part! They have met a lot of the members and they have accepted them into the family. They came to the ward activity and after were all helping with cleaning and it was so cool! They fit right in! They have been going through some family trials and it has been hard to meet up and have a lesson with everyone but we have continued to visit and they have continued to progress. We are going to need to move the baptismal date because we have a few more lessons to teach and they have a few more commandments to keep including the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity (we found out that they are not married). They are amazing! Super humble and accepting. It is the most amazing thing when we sing 'I am a Child of God' and they all know the words and they all smile and sing so proud. They are taking the steps to be an eternal family. Wow this work is amazing!!
We are continuing to work with our returning members as well. We had a couple of awesome lessons this week. We had a really cool lesson with Sora Bencze this week. We have really felt that we should involve other members in these calls to give her support and to help her feel like she is a part of the branch even though she is far away. We felt like Kinga would be the right person to involve but that meant that it would be complicated because Sora Bencze only speaks Hungarian and English and Kinga speaks Hungarian and Romanian. But it turned out really great and the were great friends. Kinga was super happy and said how amazing it was to be able to speak about the gospel in Hungarian. We mostly just watched and added in some thoughts both in English and in Romanian. It's cool how Heavenly Father magnifies our efforts.
We had a great lesson also with Sora Herghelegiu. We did a role play of the restoration and Sora Lowther played one of Sora Herghelegius friends. It was amazing to hear the testimony the she bore and, even though it was just a role play, the desire that she had to share the gospel. So cool!
We have continued to having miracles everyday as we are in the right place at the right time. We have met some amazing people and felt the Spirit testify through us. I LOVE to testify of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. Thanks for your love and support. Can't wait to see all of you soon!

(BTW im coming home so this is my last email love you all)

(((: Fericita si multumita

I dont have a lot of time for emails this week. Also I left my camera in Busteni so i only have pictures from today until i get it back.

 But this week was super good!! We have gone to the Sandu family's house several times and they have continued to progress! We have had a ton of blessings and miracles with them. We had an amazing lesson and we reviewed the Plan of Salvation. It was the first lesson that Tibi (the son) came to and the spirit was really strong! He accepted to be baptized also! His sister, Dalia, couldn't have been happier! She can't wait to be baptized. Her and her mom always talk about baptism and how excited they are. They understand the doctrine so well and have accepted everything! We are still trying to meet up with the father. He is really busy and is still not sure about baptism. We have been really prayerful and thinking of other ways that we can better help them.
We were finally able to meet with Izabela Toth this week. We talked about covenants and watched the prophets talk. We invited her to be baptized but she said she hasn't recieved her answer yet. We really want to meet with the whole family and especially with Fratele Toth now that he is out of the hospital. While he was there he asked his family to bring him the Book of Mormon and as he was reading it he was able to share it also with another man that was there. He asked us for another book so he could give the man a copy!! He is so cool!
We also had the coolest lesson this week with a returning member and his family. He was baptized in Germany and since he has been here no one has reached out to him from the church. He said that he didn't even know there was a church in Brasov. We taught about the restoration of the church and the spirit was so strong! When we taught about the first vision his wife started smiling so big and said that she felt the chills. They really want to come to church but they work every weekend. It's really amazing to see how God has prepared these members they just need a little help to find there way back!
Other than that we have continued to work with our other people and have seen God working in their lives too. I have also been able to reach out to some of the people that I worked with at the beginning of my mission. This week I saw one of the girls that I worked with on the street and she said she wants to come to the church again! Heavenly Father is so good and loving. I love to feel his love for these wonderful people. Thanks for your guys love and prayers! Ready for another week of miracles!

Sora James

Busteni <3333

also me telling a cow to not eat the rock, i also tried to share the restoration with them (they weren't too receptive)

I WANT TO WRITE SO MUCH MORE

This week was amazing. Seriously we saw so many miracles. We are of course super pumped about the Sandu family! They want to be baptized!!! We have planned to go over there almost daily so that we can help them prepare. Sora Sandu has started talking about preparing to send her children in missions. They already call the Church "our church". We had a really cool experience at church this week  with the oldest daughter. We were talking about the spirit and prayer and she raised her hand and asked if she could share something. She then told about the first time we went to their house. She said that there was a peace and calm that they all felt. She said that they had never felt that feeling in their home before. When she said this the Spirit was so strong and bore witness to us all of what she said. We are praying for them and we know that God will work through us to help them be baptized! We really want to make sure that the father and son are there for the lessons, because although they have come to church, they haven't been able to come to the discussions because they are always very busy. We know how important it is so their family to progress toward exaltation together! We also want to do better at involving members in our lessons with them, even though they live further away.
This week we haven't been able to meet with Izabella Toth and her family but we have stayed in contact with her. It has been really hard for her and with her father at the hospital she has had a lot more responsibility around the house and at the farm. She has continued to pray every day but is having a harder time recognizing the spirit. They also haven't been able to come to church because of the situation. I know that everything will work out and that this is a part of God's plan and exactly what they need right now. We will continue to pray and have hope for them.
We also met with Sora Meze and Ramona a few times again this week. We have started My Foundation the self-reliance program and the first few lessons have gone great. Since we met her Sora Meze has really started to work hard and earn money for her family. She looks for work wherever she can find it and it has been a great blessing for her family. They still really want to come to church and have been trying every week but have started to loose hope that they will be able to come ever. We have discussed with the members and have been trying to find other options for them to come. They continue to pray ever night and still read together from the Book of Mormon. They are progressing and we want to help them see the change that God has already made for them in their life.
We are working with a lady named Sora Grigore and she is reading every night from the Book of Mormon. We taught her the Plan of Salvation this week and she was really touched by the fact that her husband (who died a year ago) is learning the same things as her and that he is alive in the spirit world. It is so amazing to see these pure doctrines touch the hearts of those we teach. I love to see the change in their eyes and how their spirits recognize what we are teaching.
We had an amazing miracle this week while we were walking on the street! Sora Aplea is a lady that me and Sora Garrett taught but after the first visit she stopped answering. We went back over and her family told us to not come back again. We were super sad but didn't stop praying for her. This week we met her on the street and she told us that her brothers from her church had said that she wasn't allowed to have us over anymore but the fact that she saw us on the street gave her the strength to invite us over again. She even told us that earlier in that day she had been thinking about us and wanting to see us again. We also had a miracle yesterday while we were knocking houses. We met Iliriana and it was the most amazing at-the-door-lesson I have probably ever had. She is soo prepared and she is going to be baptized! 
We have had too many miracles to write about them all! I am so grateful to be a part of this work of salvation! Have a great week!

Sora James

May 13, 2019 woooohoooo (((((:

This week was really good. Sora Collins and Lowther are awesome. We have been seeing a lot of blessings. This week we had Zone Conference and I really loved it and I got a ton of ideas of how I want to improve my work. I was super inspired by a talk by Elder Bednar about prayer and I really want to change my habit of asking God simply to bless our people that we are working with but instead to ask Him to help me know how I can help them and then be willing to do what He asks me. We have been really blessed this week with the people we are working with and we know that God is really taking care of them. A really amazing miracle happened this weekend with the Sandu family. We hadn't been able to get a hold of them for a while and finally decided to make time to go visit them. We showed up at their house and they we so happy to see us. They said that they had continued to read together and individually from the Book of Mormon and to pray together at night. They admitted that it wasn't daily and that they needed to do better. At the end of our short visit they promised that they would come to church and said they were sorry that they hadn't come. Sora Sandu then said the prayer and asked God to "continue to send the sisters". The next day the whole family came to church! (Sora Sandu, Fratele Sandu, and their four kids) They are the real deal!! They all loved church and the members all loved them. The girls all participated in young womens and the dad and the brother were best buddies right away with Razvan. And Sora Sandu LOVED Relief Society. They talked about missionary work and she was so excited. She showed us Elder Uchtdorf's talk and said "this is what we need to be doing!". At the end of church they asked us when we would be coming over again and asked "So we have church every week at 10, right?" Yes, you do! When we first met them I felt like God has really prepared them and I am so glad that we listened to the prompting to go over again and to keep trying. We have had some trials with the Toth family. Fratele Toth had a really bad accident this last week and is now in the hospital. We think he is going to be okay but it was really scary. Luckily we were there and were able to comfort Izabella and help her while her mom called the ambulance. They have stayed positive and have been praying a lot for him. It has been a big comfort for them. We have continued to work with several families in Sacele and have seen how God has been blessing their lives. We met up with a very sweet family this week and were able to have a great lesson with them. There situation is humble but they have so much faith in God. We also met with Ramona and Sora Meze again this week. They are so amazing! We just need to help them to get to church. This week we went over to their house before church to wake up Ramona and help her come but before we were able to wake her up, her dad sent us away. I have never seen someone who wants to come to church so much and it is so hard for us to see so many things stopping her but we know how strong she is and know that she is going to be able to come. Heavenly Father doesn't ever give us a commandment that we are not able to keep. He is going to prepare a way for her to accomplish what she needs to! Our studies have been going really well and we have been really focused on the needs of each person. I feel like I know these people so well. I have been keeping a new journal that is specifically for the needs of every person we are working with. Each person has their own page and as I recieve inspiration for that specific person I add it to their page. It has been really cool! My testimony has really grown that we need to invest everything into each individual. We should be putting our whole heart into every conversation and every lesson and every person. I think about the fact that Jesus Christ suffered for each individual. I think that's what He asks of us also. Love you all so much. VAAAA PUP

Sora James

ahhhh i love these people

Mother's Day Call!!

This week was really good. I love being with Sora Collins and Sora Lowther and we have already been able to see a lot of blessings and miracles. This week we got to go to Bacau for a conference and President Hettinger talked about gathering scattered Israel from the four corners of Romania and it reminded me of something Sora Lowther said this week. She said, as we were walking through the outskirts of town, that we were going to the edges of the city and that we were speaking to people who had never seen us before and the people who maybe hadn't ever had a chance to hear the restored gospel. We had an amazing lesson with a family out in this area this last week. We met Sora Gandac on a bus and she invited us to her home. We were able to teach her about the restoration. We prayed together and sang together and felt the spirit testify of the truth, especially when we talked about the first vision. She is so humble and so prepared. While we were in the area we were also able to visit someone that we used to teach and although she wasn't interested in learning more we were able to meet a few families that Heavenly Father had prepared and placed in our path. 

We also had another great lesson this week with our sweet Ramona. She is sure that this is her path and she is progressing really well. She really wanted to come to church this Sunday but wasn't able to because of the conference in Bacau. We really want to help them come and to become self-reliant. They are the most amazing people in the world. We also had another great lesson with Izabella! She expressed concerns about authority and still has some questions but we have maintained daily contact and have encouraged her to continue in her process and her search and she has had some amazing things happened! She recognized the spirit speaking to her the first time this week and was so excited to tell us when we called. She has been trying to encourage her family to all pray together and this week they did! She also invited one of her best friends to learn about the gospel with us. She told us that she feels more confident and happier lately and she also said that when we first talked about the spirit's influence she didn't understand but now she finally does! It has been so amazing to see her progress. We also had progress with Adi and Ionela. It was so cool that they made the long trip to Bacau! They still aren't sure about what they want to do but Ionela especially has really been looking for signs and answers. 

We also had a great lesson this week with Sora Bencze through skype. She is really awesome and we're super excited to try to get her involved in the branch even if she is not able to come ever week. Overall a super good week and we really feel great about this next transfer! Please pray for Izabella and Ramona and their families! Love you guys!

Sora James

from the conference in bacau and from our hike today (((:

tranferssss- im staying here with sora lowther and sora collins! and coming soon sora haji!!!

This week was really good and I really feel rededicated to the work and the people. Especially with Easter this week I have been thinking about how Jesus Christ's apostales fell asleep while in the Garden of Gethsemane and how this work (or really anything in this life) can't be done passively. I have been praying and asking Heavenly Father for ways that I can do more for Him. It makes me think of that talk from General Conference about not just keeping our covenants superfically. It's about who we are so much more than about what we are doing, although what we are doing will always influence who we become. Some things that I have been focusing on are prayers of gratitude and more specific questions. It's so cool because Heavenly Father oviously wants to answer our questions we just need to ask them! I have had some really cool experiences with personal revelation which I have them been able to share with the people I have met every day.

 Our amazing people have also been doing really well and have been finding answers for themselves!! Sora Meze and Ramona recieved the answer that this is the right path and that they, together with their families need to continue to follow it! Ramona even said that she wants to make a covenant with God at our church. And although we have talked about baptism we had never used that word or explained what it meant. It is so true that Heavenly Father speaks to His children. The Toth family is doing really well also! We have met up with them a few more times and every time the spirit is so strong. Fratele Toth has read a third of the Book of Mormon and has so many questions. He talks about the true path and says that he feels like everyone he knows is walking just to the side of the path but not quite on. He talks about the need for the Restoration! He and Izabela even read together. She has really been loving to read the Book of Mormon, she is underlining and understanding a lot more. We are so proud of her and all her progress! She came to church and loved it (her parents had work and weren't able to come with her). All of the members were sooo welcoming! As a part of weekly planning we have started choosing members who will call each of our friends to invite them to church. It has been making a difference for them. They are all so happy to have someone from the Church call them and invite them to come (even someone they have never met). Because of that Izabela had several friends already waiting for her at church. 

We have been continuing to work with our returning members and have really been trying to do everything to find them. We tried to find one member recently only to find that the address and number were both mistaken. We sent her an email telling her that Christ is inviting her back and is always calling out to her and after a few days she answered and we are going to meet up this week. I imagine her as a lost sheep and I know that Jesus Christ would go through any effort to find her. This work is amazing! 

This week we actually had a super spiritual experience at the Herghelegiu's house when we shared a message about missionary work. We watched Elder Uchtdorf's talk and talked about real life ways to apply what he taught us. The thought came to Sora Herghelegiu of a woman that she doesn't really know but she feels that she could share the gospel with. It was so cool to see how Heavenly Father spoke to her even while we were still there. The immediate goodness of God! 

So the moral of the story is: miracles are happening, Heavenly Father answers prayers, and this is going to be the best tranfers ever!

Love, Sora James

(these pics arent from this week but theyre cute and Im gonna miss this friend)

Pictures from conference

"Caci Eu Domnul n-am uitat poporul Meu"

(: happy days

This week we recieved so many blessings. I know that God is aware of us and is helping our people. The most amazing news from this week is that Alexandra finally answered us! We have been thinking of her a lot and praying for her and have called her every couple of days since we last saw her a month ago and yesterday we called her and she answered! We set up to meet on Wednesday! I know that Heavenly Father is so proud of her and that He has a plan for her. We have also been seeing lot's of miracles with the families that we are working with! There are two families (Meze and Sandu) that are reading and praying every night together! This week we also got to visit Izabela at her home and meet her parents who are both interested to know more about the Gospel and especially to read the Book of Mormon. They are so amazing! They told us that the first time we met with Izabela that she came home and said that she was so happy and that she would be coming more! She also prayed and talked about how she has been changing because of what she has been learning and doing. It was amazing for her parents to hear and even more important for her to be able to say those things! We are so proud of her and the progress she is making. We are still working with Ionela and helpiong her understand and recieve her answer. She is still not one hundred percent dedicated to her decision to be baptized and we want to help her understand what it means. This week we have both been studying a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I loved in General Conference how we were taught that faith in the His atoning power is what leads to action. Have a great week!

Love, Sora James

sorry no pictures /: loooove yoou

CE TARE!!

Wow this week was awesome! Other than the fact that we had General Conference which is always AWESOME (ESPECIALLY THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE TEMPLE IN HUGARY !!!! ) We also had Zone Conference which always pumps me up!! We also had some amazing lessons and some really great miracles. We have some people that are really prepared and very willing to keep commitments and are trying with all their hearts to come unto Christ. First of all we have really focused this week on meaningful follow-up every day with everyone we are meeting with and it has been so cool to give them a chance to testify of the experiences they have had. It really makes such a difference! We are working with a sweet girl named Izabela and daily contact has really encouraged her to pray and read everyday. She had never prayed before meeting us but now she is reading and praying every night and testified to us (over the phone !) that since she has been doing this that she has recieved joy and peace from God! Our focus on meaningful contact also made it possible for our friends to participate in General Conference. It was a blessing for so many of them! One of our really big miracles this week was with the sweet Sandu family. Sora Sandu works at the bus station in Sacele and has seen us coming and going for a while and she approached us and asked us when we could visit her! We got to go over on Saturday and had the most amazing lesson ever! The Spirit testified powerfully as we related the First Vision and testified of the power of the Book of Mormon. By the end of the lesson Sora Sandu had invited herself and her family to General Conference in that same evening and told us of several other families that she thought we should go to! She also said the closing prayer and asked to know if this was the true path of God. They are such a sweet family and we are so excited by their progress already! We are also super pumped about our sweet family from Tarlungeni. Sora Meze and her kids are so sweet and humble and really have been prepared for the Gospel. We went and visited them this week and were so happy. Sora Meze doesn't know how to read but her sister knows a little and together they read from the Book of Mormon. We taught about the Restoration of the Gospel in our visit and as we testified aboout Joseph Smith, she started to cry. Her phone isn't great and it is hard to stay in contact with her but she really wants to come to church with her family and to recieve those blessings.  Ionela and Adi are still waiting for a clear answer. They are separated for the time being and don't want to be married. Ionela is searching with her whole heart and really wants to be baptized still. She came to General Conference and even recognized an answer that she recieved while there. We will continue to pray for her and for Adi and his family. We have continued to work with Ramona and the Olea family also. Over all we have been so blessed and can't say enough prayers of gratitude for all the ways God is blessing us. He is really speeding His work here. Some things we have done that have helped us are: promising blessings, believing that God is guiding EVERY little thing, specific prayers, follow-up and encouragement. I know that God sees our little efforts and makes them great! Have a great week!

Sora James

 also i have a ton of pics because sora garrett got her camera to work lol 

Sora Sandu and her sweet girls

Izabela <3

Ionela 

classic missionary shot (SACELE IS BEAUTIFUL)

Sora Meze 

Turlungeni with Maria and Nicoleta

cutest EVA lesson with Cristina and Izabela

Sora Ciorba 

Unplanned Miracles

As you already know, this week was amazing! We are super pumped about our baptismal dates with Adi and Ionela! We were having a lesson with Adi's whole family and Ionela and Adi were sitting towards the back of the group. When we started to talk about baptism they started whispering to each other. As the lesson continued Ionela announced that they had something to say. She told us that they wanted to be married and then baptized. They Spirt was so powerful and confirmed that this is the right path. They are praying now to know for sure that this is what God wants for them. We were also super happy to have a lost sheep back with us! Sora Ciorba came to church on Sunday. After being  baptized all of her friends pressured her into returning to the church that she had previously been at, since then she hasn't been back to church. But this week we found her name on the member list and went to find her and invite her back and she came!

We have realized how guided we are and have been trying to find the unplanned opportunities in what look like failure and God has really blessed us to see some unplanned miracles! We missed our bus stop and had to get off at the next one and walk back. Sora Garrett told me that she felt like we must have missed it for a reason and that there was someone waiting for us on the way back. We talked to a few really cool people and then saw a beautiful family. We stopped them and asked if we could share a short message with them. We talked a little about the Restoration and then asked when we could meet and they said they could the next day! We met up on Sunday and taught them about the Book of Mormon. The Spirit was so strong and testified of the truth of what we were saying. We set to meet up again on Sunday! 

We had another amazing experience when we were going to find a returning member. She wasn't there because she had moved out of the block but we started talking to one of the ladies from the block and she was super sweet and invited us into her home. We went in and told her who we were and she was pretty emotional and told us how much she loves Jesus Christ and that she thinks He sent us to her. We then invited her to come to church and she got really excited and said that for the past three weeks she has been having a dream of Jesus Christ extending His hand to her and saying "haide, hai cu mine" (which means come with me) and she said that she would answer "unde sa ma duc?" (where should I go) her mom is super sick and she cant really go anywhere but she said that when we invited her that she knew that that was the invitation that Christ was extending. She said that Jesus Christ wants her to come to His church. She said we were angels sent from God. 

We are still working with going to all of the members on the list and finding the lost sheep and it has been going well. There are a lot of wrong addresses and missing information but we have seen how Heavenly Father has helped and guided us. Along with that we have been continuing to try with Alexandra and have met up with our other people. There is a lot going on in Brasov! Have an amazing week!

Sora James

pics: adi and ionela are the most beautiful people <3

we moved this week to a different apartment and here we are in the middle of the night (8 pm) taking the last of our stuff to the new place