Week 60

Hi all,

Sorry I told you about transfers and then completely forgot to tell you what was happening at transfers... :) I'm staying in Arad with Sora Cox, and the Elders are staying the same except we actually lost the ZL's to Oradea, so now we're a "babysitting district," with a senior couple who apparently was told by President that they were to be "unofficial chaperons," LOL.

Here are some photos I took recently of some of the buildings in Arad:

Hobbits?

Before I forget, could I maybe get the gooey rolls with cheese recipe? OR is that so super confidential that transporting it over email is too dangerous? :)

This week I don't have as much to report, we've been busy with helping Maria with her coming baptism and looking for less actives. I don't know if I mentioned, but our Relief Society President gave us (via Sora Smith) a list of less actives to go through, locate, and see if we can't get them reactivated or on a do-not-contact list. So that's been some pretty busy work but we've made really good progress.

This week was transfers but nothing's changing so we've been hanging out in Arad. Four transfers here and I am officially the Arad sister. I know anything and everything about this city. And if I don't know it, then it doesn't exist.

We got ice cream with Ioana. She's great, she showed us some targets from when she went shooting. Which is like, every day.  Watch out, world. :)

Here are some photos I took on the day we went with Ioana and her 2 friends to Lipova:

We went to see the Bacanu family, who is a huge less active family of seven kids which both parents and five kids are baptized. They live 20 minutes out of Arad and are poor, so they can't come to church. But apparently the father died four months ago and no one's been out to visit them for four years and the mother told us she loves the church and the gospel is true, but she doesn't believe in the Arad branch. It's sad, I mean it just goes to show how important home and visiting teaching is. We brought the family the sacrament on Sunday and had a nice little visit with them, and since the father died they've lost all interest in going to the temple anymore. They thought that it was too late, now that he is gone and they can't be sealed together. It's great to know the gospel is a lot greater than that :) So we shared with them how they can still be sealed as a whole family and they want their children to be baptized.  Needless to say, it was a nice and spiritual visit.

Maria is doing well and we've been trying to get in lessons with the members too to fellowship her. The only thing in the way of her baptism this Saturday is she's been struggling to quit smoking. We've been fasting and praying for her, and giving her some aids to clean out the nicotine and such. We're seeing her tonight so we'll see how that's been helping. She told us she doesn't want to quit smoking just to be baptized, and then fall back into smoking again after, so that's great news. Satan's going to try really hard this week to keep her from being baptized, so a little extra prayer power would be appreciated :)

I've been a little frustrated the past little while with the Elders.  There's totally an attitude of "We're Elders and we hold the Priesthood and you're just in the way," except with this coming baptism which they're suddenly all eager to help us out and acknowledge we are actually working with them in this city...    It's hard because it makes me frustrated and it's hard to feel the spirit when you're frustrated. If any missionary or pre-missionary reads this, I beg you to NEVER EVER treat your sisters like second class missionaries.  Anyway, maybe now that there will only be two Elders and us and the Smiths, things might be different, but I don't want to get my hopes up like last time :) haha.

Anyway. That's this week. Things are cool. It's been rainy and cooling down fast, I've actually broken out my wintery gear. Some of the Elders had to ask me what the weird knit cloth was on my ankles.   Lol, they're leg warmers...

Anyway, I hope this week goes well for everyone at home. Stay safe, read the scriptures... and I'll write to you next week!

From the #1 Smith Missionary in Romania

...I guess I can't say that anymore.

P.S.

I'm sorry. I forgot. Two more things.

1- My hair is different now. We went "contacting" to a hair salon and now it's different.

New Haircut

The disco shirts that we were given worn over cammies to improve modesty ;)

2- One day on our way to Maria's, we're passing by this thicketous forest of briars and overgrown grass when a wild and scruffy dog pops out and runs off. So we look into the mass of green weeds and there are two little puppy heads popping out, and I think I melted into a puddle of d'aww. I called out to them and they wagged their little bums over and cuddled and rubbed their disasterous furry bodies on my legs.... I couldn't help but pick them up and cuddle. My companion asked if they were clean.   "Definitely not," said I.   But dang, I really missed puppy cuddles and that made my entire September.

In the end, I had to part with the disease bearing love muffins. At the side of the road, with the thought in mind of whether or not they're still alive. I mean, their mother is, so who knows. But man. I love puppies.