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 

Week: March 19-25

This week was really amazing. I am so happy to be back here. I find myself smiling all the time and my desire to do the work is just getting bigger and bigger every day. It's been a really cool experience coming in and building off the work that Sora Garrett and the other sisters have done because this is the first time in my mission that I have been able to do this. They really have done a great job and there are some amazing people that we are working with. 

We are of course working with Alexandra but she is still having a really hard time fully accepting the Atonement of Jesus Christ to work in her and because of this we weren't able to meet up with her this week. I have said some of my most earnest prayers in my life for her. Both a year ago and now. Can you all please pray for her? She really needs it. With all of our faith I know that Heavenly Father will give her the strength to ask for Christ's redeeming power. We are also working with Ramona, Ionela, Rebeca, and several others. 

This week we had lessons with some sweet families, including the Geana family from Sacele. They are so sweet and there testimonies are so strong. It seems like they understand the Gospel and now it's time for them to act! We talked about baptism and a specific date and they said they would pray to know if this was the right thing for them! We have met up with a lot of awesome people and have continued to find more people wherever we go. 

We have continued promising blessing and have been focusing a lot on this as a district. Sora Muhlestein had a great idea of how to do better at following up not only on the commitment we extend but also on the blessings the we promise. We have also been focused a lot on working with our less active members. Every day we go out and true to find these amazing children of God! We split up the member list and mapped out where everyone lives so that no one is left forgotten. Heavenly Father always leads us to where we need to go when we are out doing what He has asked us to do. We have had miracles as we have followed the promptings He gives us. 

Something that we read this week in our comp study was to make it clear when we are teaching that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints isn't like other churches. I have felt so much happiness this week as I have concentrated on teaching others that while other churches good and based on true priciples and are lead by good people, that there is a church lead directly by God! From there we teach that through the Gospel restored in this church that we can recieve all the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Ahh we are a part of the most amazing work in the world! Have a great week!

Love, Sora James

IM BACK HOME

Okay im not back home in utah but im back to my lovely Brasov!!!! As I got off the train, I felt like I was coming home. We have big plans to get through the member list and bring everyone back. The members are doing great and it really is the time for this wonderful city. Already in these couple days of being here we have seen miracles! We got to meet with Alexandra and had a powerful lesson about the Plan of Salvation, concentrating on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I saw a change in her in this lesson and I think she truely understands her need of Him in her life. She closed with a beautiful prayer and told us that she really feels like God is calling on her to come to Him and that He is really working at her through us. Sora Garrett is AMAZING and so bold and brought up baptism at just the right time. Alexandra said that she is amazed that we still believe that she is worth it. It is a miracle that I am able to be here again. I feel like one of the greatest purposes of my whole mission was to prepare me for this time here again, with her and with all of the people here. I have felt the power of personal revelation and know that God has great plans right now. Like I said Sora Garrett is amazing and has taught me so much especially about promising blessings. We were really inspired but the story Elder Kemeny shared at MLC about promising specific, powerful blessings and we have been making a real effort to do this in all of our interactions. People really react positively because when we do this the Spirit imediately testifies of what we are saying. We really are doing great and really feel like miracles are coming! Love you guys! Have a great week!

Sora James

back in the good ol brasov

me and alexandra (((:

i dont know what week anymore but it was really goooood ((((:

This week we have stayed busy and have been having lots of great lessons. One of the greatest experiences this week was with our cute friend Diana. We taught her the Plan of Salvation. Recently we realized that we need to be teaching the Plan of Salvation as a lesson about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the impact it has on us now and in eternity instead of teaching about us and then fitting the Atonement into the picture. The Plan of Salvation is the Atonement. As we taught the lesson more focused on Him, our desire to share with her was so much greater. The love the God blessed us to feel for this sweet girl was really amazing. She is progressing really well and even in a few lessons we have seen her faith grow. Her prayers are really sincere and you can really see her desire to know if God is there. 

Another amazing miracle from this week was with Carmen Ionica. She came to church again this Sunday. It was amazing to see her take the sacrament and renew her covenants again! Then as the testimonies were being borne she was very touched and she leaned over to me and asked if it would be okay for her to say a few things. I told her that it would be fine. She went up and shared that she was a recently returning member but that God has showed her that she needs to be here. It was a short but powerful testimony. 

We have seen a lot of amazing miracles lately and have been feeling the power of the Holy Ghost giving us the words to say, when we need to say them. I have noticed that if we are prepared and willing God will give us challenges that turn out to be miracles. 

Sora Erickson is doing really well and has been taking the lead in a few lessons and has been working so hard. She is an amazing example and I am so lucky to be her companion. We are always up and praying at 6:30 and something that I try to do every morning is to say "Today is going to be a great day." and then I give a little cheer or jump or something and it really always is true haha. 

Love you so much!

Sora James

week

This week was great. After the mission tour this week I just feel so pumped for the work and I have thought of so many ways to improve. Something that really impressed me was how optimistic the message was. It is easy to get stuck in the moment and to only see where we are now but I was reminded that the most wonderful thing about the Gospel is the fact that because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ everything is full of hope. No matter what happens, everything will be okay. I decided to focus on this as I do my work and it has made a difference just always thinking about the eternal perspective. 

We have continued to concentrate our efforts on our work with returning members and have been blessed with some great miracles! We had a lady come to church who hasn't come in 5 years. Her name is Carmen Ionica. We have visited her with some of the active members as well and it was amazing to see them welcome her back. They all celebrated her returning and we will be sure to continue to involve them from here on out. 

Another amazing blessing was a visit to Sora Matei that we had. President Doru is really on top of the needs of the members and gave us an assignment at the last branch council to reach out to her. It was an amazing experience and we really felt the spirit testify through us. We were really straight forward and asked her why she hadn't come to church lately. She opened up to us and we read the story of the lost sheep and the verses from John 10 about how the Savior gave His life for His sheep. We were all in tears and could feel God's love so much for this sweet sister. She said that she hadn't read the Book of Mormon in years but that she would try. We told her to come back and that Christ wanted her back. She felt the power of the message. Another amazing experience this week happened because we missed our stop on the tramvai. Because we went further we ended up being in an area that we had never been in before and we decided to knock a few houses while we were there. The first house we went to was a beautiful family with 11 little kids! At first while we were talking to the mother she was really closed off and told us that she already had a church and that she didn't want to know more but as we testified of the Restoration of the Gospel we saw her heart change and she invited us to come back. It was amazing to see how God guided our path to find this sweet family. We have been blessed with many other opportunities and have been able to contact a lot of our amazing people that we have found. Love you all

!

Sora James

week

This week was great! We have continued to work hard every day and haven't lost our fire or motivation. We have been praying more than ever and have been finding all day every day! It has been amazing! We go find returning members and find others along the way.  We have also been involving members and going out to find with them which has been really cool. That way we are able to strengthen the testimony of those who are here as well as searching for those who are lost. We had exchanges this week and we both had great experiences with finding returning members. Sora Broadbear and I went to find a member and it turns out that he and his wife were separated and that he had moved out and she didn't have any of his contact information. We left her with our number and told her to call us if she ever wanted to know more about what we believe or if she had info on her husband. Not even an hour later we got a call. It was the member that we were looking for! He told us that his wife had told him that we were at his house and he said that he wanted visits from the elders and that he wanted to come back to church! It was such a miracle. It was so amazing to be with Sora Broadbear again. She is such a great example and she teaches me so much every time we are together again. Lately I have been really focused on having more meaningful prayers and study and I have really felt the difference. I really look forward every night to reporting what I have done that day to Heavenly Father and I really feel Him listening and helping me to know what to do better. Prayer is so powerful. I love you all! have a great week

Sora James

Week 61... i think

This week has been filled with miracles. We have been guided to a lot of amazing people this week but still haven't been able to have a lot of lessons. We are really dedicating ourselves to the people we find and are following up with each one. We have to keep working harder and smarter but I'm not worried because I know that God sees our efforts and that He has a better plan for these people than we do. Something that I have been trying to improve on recently as I try and talk to every person that God puts in my path is to contact better on public transportation and as we wait at the stops. We have started talking to each person we can that is waiting at the same stop as us before the bus comes and then on the bus or metro or whatever it is, I have really tried putting an effort in to talking to everyone that I can and being direct about the purpose. I have realized that the conversation doesn't need to be casual and then slowly work up to a gospel discussion but that if I start a conversation directly and with love that others are open to talk about what we believe even if they aren't interested to come and learn more yet. I really believe that although it's good that they remember us smiling and being friendly it matters so much more that we give each person a chance to hear our testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have continued in our efforts to gather the lost sheep and have been delivering lots of baptismal records. This week we went on exchanges with members and delivered some of them. It was really cool to see their enthusiasm for the work and their testimonies in action. We had an amazing experience with one lady this week named Mariana. We traveled really far to find her and when we got there she happened to be home and she welcomed us with open arms. She said that she was wanting to talk to the missionaries and find her way back for a while now but never saw any around the city and didn't know how to find us she then started crying and said, "Now look, you just showed up at my front door. I know that you are sent by God. I know that He loves me." It was an amazing experience. We have been blessed to have some amazing experiences contacting on the streets and in blocks and everywhere we go. I have really seen how God leads us to the areas we need to be in just when we need to go there. I am so grateful to be here and I love this work. Have a great week!

oh btw sora smith is gone and im with my pal sora erickson din nou 

Sora James