Sunt Mos Craciun

Hello all,

I noticed that you wrote it was 5 - 10 degrees over there, and I couldn't remember what that meant in Fahrenheit. I'm thinking in Celsius now! But that's cold! A lot colder than it is in Craiova. It hasn't snowed for a week. The air is still chilly, but you've got a lot of snow! A White Christmas!

For Christmas, we can have a 30 minute phone call to give instructions, and then we can Skype. We can do this any day during the holidays, and I'll have to see if any computer places are open, if we want to do this on Christmas. I'm not sure yet. When will you be home and available for a call? Because we're pretty flexible over here.

So! This week!

Was a lot more quiet than last week, that's for sure. I don't know if you can get much crazier than last week.  Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty normal. Contacting... contacting... more contacting...

I did get a message from Sora Gerhartz, though. Remember Franciska from Oradea? Apparently she called, she says her husband is mad and they have their church and she can't meet anymore. I was heartbroken! It felt for a while like everything I worked toward opening that city was useless. Of course, that's not true, but it's not always easy hearing that someone you really care for isn't meeting anymore. What a beautiful family, I just know this isn't the end for them!

 

Thursday we had a district meeting while the Zone leaders were doing exchanges. Then we all went out to eat, then we left on a train to Bucharest for a Christmas party/zone conference. Three hour train ride, then we stayed overnight at the sister's apartment in Aviatiei. One of the Sister training leaders is from Italy, so she made us all this pasta, and... well, I don't think I have to explain. It was so good!  Want to know the trick to making Italian pasta? Be Italian.

The next day we went to the chapel (Bucharest has an actual chapel! I haven't been in one of these since Utah! Everything here is in Villas!) to have zone conference, and the majority of missionaries are there. I got to see Elder Sookhoo, Brown, Brundage, and Sora Newell! It was so much fun!  We ate, had a tie/scarf exchange, and talked with each other until it was time to leave. I loved seeing everyone! We're very close in this mission, I've realized.

We learned who the next mission president is. Get this: it's President Ivory from Ivory Homes in Utah. Crazy, right? It's weird, he's like, really young. Him and his wife are bringing their youngest child to be with them here. I think he's coming in, in June (I just used "in" twice in a row, English is a flawed language).

We stayed another evening in Bucharest, then headed back to Craiova on Saturday morning. We were a little worried because we had a Church Christmas Party at 2 and our train was supposed to get in at 1:45. Somehow we made it exactly at 2.  It was us four missionaries, the Spooners, and the Radulescus (the Romanian members). It was fun! We had Sarmale (a Romanian dish, which is basically meat-rolled cabbage but it's SO GOOD!), made a paper chain of what we're thankful for, and decorated sugar cookies while watching a movie, the Christmas Orange. It was so simple, but so much fun!

On Sunday there was three others besides the usual four members.

1. The drunk guy who always comes. He is not interested in having lessons, but he told me after sacrament meeting that he comes every week because he loves the spirit he feels in our chapel, lol.

2. A taxi driver who, when the elders contacted him, said he wanted in on our little group and for the elders to find him a wife. When he came, Elder Mayans sat by him and told us later that he was asking about us.... and Elder Mayans said to stay away from us, haha.

3. Then a tall, young, well dressed man walks in and all of us are thinking, "who is that? he looks like a missionary." He is a member from Utah who owns a business here, he'll be here for the next 16 days.  Well, he made our little group just a little bigger.

Today we went to Club 300 for P-day and we played pool there. I'm not very good at pool.  And now here we are, in a cheap Internet cafe writing to my family and trying to find somewhere to download the Christmas devotional on my iPod.

Well, this week was busy in other, non-missionary things so really, not a whole lot got done this week. BUT! We have plans to go caroling and have hot cocoa parties and English classes are starting up, so this week will be extra productive! Yay!

I started reading Jesus the Christ, and I'm right into all the parts about the advent of Christ and the Nativity. It's so interesting! You learn a lot that really isn't important to understand the gospel, but it makes it all the more beautiful. It's a good Christmas read. You know, if you're a missionary and aren't reading other, Christmas-y things.

I'm so excited for Christmas! We're going to have a blast in Craiova!  Craciun fericit! Mos Craciun! La multi ani! Ornitorinc!

Sora Smith


 P.S.  This is a picture from a (really sad and unkempt) zoo we went to on one of our P-days.