Sister Hannah James: Week 7- Brasov, Romania !!!!!!

Ahhhhh I'm here in Romania!! Isn't it crazy!? I love love love love it here and I love being a missionary. The work is amazing and I just feel so blessed to be here. Since I last emailed a lot has happened (obviously haha) We left the MTC in the middle of the night and got to the airport, from Saltlake we went to Chicago and then Amsterdam and finally from Amsterdam to Bucharest! When we first got there I was a zombie. I didn't know what was going on and I was soo tired. Our first stop was a hill in Bucharest called Chismaju. There we sent off the departing missionaries and were welcomed as the new missionaries into the mission. We read the mission dedicatory prayer and talked about the work in Romania and all that Heavenly Father has trusted us with. It was really awesome to feel the spirit of the mission and the work here. I felt how important the gospel is for the people of Romania. While we were in Bucharest we also got assigned to our trainers and our areas. My trainer is Sora Ebert! She is so awesome and such an obedient and bold missionary. Already I have learned from her to talk to everyone and not to let fear get in the way! We got assigned to labor in Brasov!

I love it here!! The people are amazing and the city is beautiful! We are both new missionaries here and we have been trying to figure our way around but I already love it. We have been really focusing on talking to everyone which has been pretty scary because I don't really know much of the language! But I have been really relying on my faith in God and trusting in the spiritual promptings I have received and I have felt so blessed! I felt prompted so I started a conversation with a sweet girl on the bus several days ago and she was really interested in our message! We set up a lesson and were able to meet with her at the church on Saturday. She had a lot of questions and the spirit was there so strong! I loved being able to see the ways that God had prepared her and us so that we could teach her about how His true church is here on earth and how she can find that to be true for herself! I have had a lot of other really awesome experiences like that am I just love being part of the work so I can really just see up close how much God really does love each of His children! Almost without exception every person I talk to is just so kind and loving. The people here are really just so kind. They are so ready for this gospel!!

Church this week was also very amazing! At church I realized just how little Romanian I really know haha. When members would talk to me directly I could get the gist of what they were saying and sort of respond but when talking in a big group I can't exactly follow hahah but I'm trying to get better. They all call me boboaca which means duckling. (they just use it to mean a new missionary haha) Whenever they say something I don't understand they say "Oh little duckling" it's actually really cute haha. I feel very loved in the branch already. I got assigned to be the branch pianist like 5 minutes before church started and I was a little nervous and the branch President's wife said "Don't feel nervous. It's just us. It's just your family." It was really sweet and did make me feel a little better. I also had the opportunity to bear my testimony in church which was really awesome too!

Overall I have just loved it so much here and learned a ton! I am so happy to be here! Everyday I just get so excited. To me every door we knock on is a person waiting and searching for the truth and knowledge we have and Heavenly Father has picked me to be the messenger for the people in Brasov. I am so so grateful to be a missionary!

Picture 1- On our way!