Merry Christmas!!!!!

I am not even sure how to start this email my week has been so incredible and eye opening.

On Wednesday, we went with a couple in the branch who work for a non-governmental organization to a village a couple hours outside of Chisinau. There had been a bunch of presents delivered for the kids of town and it was our job to separate them out for age groups. We were working in the gym of the one school in the town, it reminded me of something out of the movie Hoosiers. Super old wood floor, small but just classic. Then later we went and visited the kindergarten. When we walked in about 60 little kids ran up to us. We started talking to them and they started reciting poems about Christmas that were learning for the school play it was adorable. Then the teachers at the school fed us the most delicious bors I have ever had. They were all just so grateful to us and I was just kinda like we didn't even do anything. 

After lunch we ended up in a van with the mayor of the town and a bunch of boxes full of food. We went with the mayor to homes if people that are not able to get to the gym in the middle of the town to collect their food. People always tell us that there are towns in Moldova that are poor but I could have never wrapped my mind around it had I not seen it. We walked into the home... side note when I say home I mean a tiny adobe square with a roof and no running water and no heating system and holes plugged up with old clothes and no electricity. Literally all of the basic utilities we have did not exist in this villiage. We walked in and gave the box to a woman that is about 70 years old and when we asked her to sign the sheet designating that she got her box she said, I didn't go to school I can't write my name. My heart hurt. It hit me that there are people living in this country, a country in Europe that never learned how to write their name. Maybe I have just been sheltered my entire life but wow that made an impact on me. These people wake up everyday and their entire goal for the day is to scrape some food together and keep warm. I thought about all my hopes and dreams about what I want in my life and about what I just expect to have. That night I just came home mind blown. I knelt that night and just thanked God for all of my blessings, for the potential I have in my life. I also had decide to put my trust in the atonement. To be honest at first I was kind of angry "how could I be so blessed, why did I get to be born into such an incredible family in a country where I have so many opportunitiies. If God loves us all why would he make things so unfair? As I was brewing over all this, a line from preach My Gospel came into my head " all that is unfair in this life can be made fair through the atonement of Jesus Christ." I had to decide then and there that that was true. I had to just put my trust in the Sacrifice of Christ and in God's plan. I still cannot comprehend it but I know that one day the people in that villiage will be encompassed in God's love. He will reward them for their hardships. They will feel the joy of progression that God had put into his plan. I am so grateful for all of the incredible experiences I am having here in Chisinau, even though some of them are pretty heavy, I am so grateful for the growth that they give me.

My friends and family I love this gospel. I love that I am allowed to ask questions and that my Father in Heaven answers me. I love this Christmas season and the beautiful spirit that it brings. Have an awesome week!

Sora Armstrong

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CRACIUN!!!!

The other day someone was like Christmas is on Friday and I just about fell out of my chair. How did it get here so fast! We have a fun busy week ahead of us but let me tell you about this last week.

So it was kinda weird because we went to Bucuresti for some training and we had zone conference, I gave my companion to her parents and had to film a commercial for our english classes.

We also had some SICK lessons and 6 investigators at church! So miracles are happeing all around. Sora Black gave an increible last talk in sacrament all about hope. I love the idea of hope and Christmas together. Christ was born and died so we could have hope. Without him we would not be allowed to mess up. We would have to do everything perfectly and there would be 0 hope of ever living with God again. But because Christ died and now lives. Death is not the end. We will continue to progress. What an incredible gift our Father in Heaven gave us. The gift of being allowed to not be perfect. The gift of a new beginning and the gift of HOPE that we will return to live with Him again. 

On friday night Sora Black and flew back from Buc and her parents were waiting for us at the airport. She is headed home after and INCREDIBLE 18 months. She has become one of my best friends these past couple of months and boys she is single and ready to mingle! (jk she is gonna kill me for that)

 

On Saturday I had to be at our center for filming. Yeah I had to get filmed for an english video we are doing. It was kinda cool. It was a profesional film crew and everythimg. You all know how I walk like a linebacker right? The first shot we did thay had me walking towards the camera and the capera was on the wheely thing moving backwards. After I finished all the camera crew looked at me (a bunch of moldovan hipsters) and just started laughing. Then one of them sain in english "please try to walk  like a feminine" Elder Findlay the elder that was doing the filming just about died he thought it was so funny. So then I had to learn how to walk like a princess and it all worked out. 

Another quick funny story 

So yesterday we got invited to this ladyshome in the country side. We take this maxi taxi out of the city, it is the size of a big van and we fit about 45 random people into it. Then we get picked up by this guy we do not know in a creeper van. I kid you not Holly, I voluntarily climbed into a creeper van just praying that this guy was really our friends husband. Then we had an incredible dinner! She just kept on feeding us. We introduced the Book of Mormon to her and the Spirit was present. Then we got home by hitchiking in another creeper van. I LOVE the mission and I love the promise that God protects his people. Mom, I hope you do not freak out... it was all good. There were kids with the people we hitchiked with, so it was totally safe.

Alright fam bam and friends. I love you guys so much. To all my missionary friends have an incredible mission in the field, turn your heart to the people, we have every Christmas for the rest of our lives to be in America. We are where the Lord wants us and it is a great place to be.

To all my peeps at home turn your hearts to others look to serve and to give and I promise it will be an INCREDIBLE time of the year!

Craciun Ferecit!

Sora Armstrong

 

Cold Turkey!

Buna!

Is everyone a couple pounds heavier? I hope so. I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving, ate lots of turkey and played lots of football. The other day I was getting ready and I was like whoa the NFL started again and the NBA. I had completely forgotten about professional sports! Other than football (soccer). So now I just have to say GO CHARGERS! Ellis told me last night the warriors are undefeated so that's cool.

ANYWAY back to Moldova. Life here is good. Thanks giving was super..... COLD and wet. I will explain. But first a disclamer we decided to do our thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night with all the missionaries in Moldova and the Ivorys. So I did get me some mashed potatoes so it is all good. But on thursday I had the best thanksgiving of my life. We got invited to a recent convert's home for placinte which is like a rolled pie type thing. She lives in la tara so we had to take a maxi taxi out to her home which is in this little moldovan villiage. We get there and it starts POURING RAIN. So we are chilling, eating trying to talk to her mom who speaks this crazy mix of russian and romanian, and then we shared a message about being grateful with them and explained Thanksgiving and we talked about what we are grateful for. We are in the middle of reading Psalms 100 and Natalia's mom says your maxi leaves right now. So we are like dang! We run into the pouring rain to wait for our maxi taxi...... 45 minutes later it comes. We literally sat in the middle of this tiny town in the middle of nowhere huddled under an umbrella for 45 minutes waiting to catch a maxi taxi home. It was so much FUN! Natalia came out and waited with us and we just laughed through chattering teeth while she tried to convince us to just spend the night with her. We finally got home and 1.5 later and my feet were FROZEN! I layed down with my feet on the heater and it took another 30 minutes before I could feel them again. I LOVE moments like that. Where you get to just talk and laugh because your only other option is to be grumpy. I think my mission has been 100 times better because I have always been with a companion that chooses to laugh. I am so grateful for ALL of the incredible companions I have had while being out here, they have all become such dear friends to me. 

Okay enough with the cheesiness, next story. We bloc knocked into a FAMILY last Sunday and have been there 3 times since. It is a mom, dad and three girls. They are the cutest! We were asking for Moldovan recipes and they let us right in and fed us on the first meeting! The last time I was there I went with Sevghi and awesome YSA from our branch, she was baptized when she was 14 and has the coolest testimony. We shared a simple message with them about prayer and committed them to praying every night as a family. We taught the principle of prayer. The mom did not seem super interested and did not have a lot to say but then Sevghi prayed. She blessed their family, she thanked God for them, it was beautiful. After the prayer the mom was much more open. She told us how she liked our message, how it was a positive one and how she wants to hear more. So we are STOKED about that. It was so cool to see how Sevghi's sweet prayer softened the mom's heart. 

We also had District Conference which is like Stake Conference. It was the best one Moldova has every seen according to President Ivory. He and Sora Ivory both gave super cool talks about our journies in life. Sora Ivory talked about how we cannot get stuck in a 24 hour life cycle. We need to do things everyday that push us to improve and become. Then President Ivory gave us three specific things that we can do to become fully converted to this gospel. The first was study the Book of Mormon, the second was keep the Sabbath day holy, but also to USE the sabbath day as a day to serve God. It is HIS day not ours. The church has really been pushing this lately and I have been really thinking about how I want to use Sundays so much better when I get home. Then the last one was to pay a full tithe. They are three very simple things but all things we needed to hear as members here in Moldova. 

My family and friends. This gospel is simple and I LOVE it. This week I challenge you to search for God's hands in your life. He is there with you and is taking care of you. It is our choice wether or not we see his presence.

Va las si va iubesc!

Sora Armstrong