RomanianReport: March 24, 2014

Hi fam and friends!

Oh my goodness, it's my last P-day in the MTC! I'm freaking out. You all have six days to send me caffeine and other assorted goods.... because then I'll be in Romania where it takes two months to get to me! So get it done! ;) Haha. Just kidding. (But really....)

So many little things happened this week. On Tuesday, I got another really gnarly headache (luckily it wasn't a migrane this time). The pain was so bad that I threw up and it knocked me out for the whole day. My companion, Sister Adams was so worried that she made me go to the doctor's. All the doctor could really tell me was to sleep it off and he gave me some pretty powerful pain medication. Around eight that evening Sister Adams finally woke me and told me that I needed to go get a blessing. I felt so silly because it was just a headache....but finally she convinced me. President Willis was already in our classroom because we have a big devotional every Tuesday night. As soon as I walked in he jumped right up and ran over to make sure I was okay. I told him I'd be fine and I just wanted a blessing. He gladly obliged. What followed was such a tender mercy. President Willis hardly talked of my health at all, but talked about two or three other things that were really on my mind. I hadn't even mentioned anything to him.... It was so evident that the Lord was inspiring him what to say to me. If anything, Sister Adams felt prompted to wake me up just so I could receive the comfort from that blessing. It was great! That headache lasted well into Saturday, but luckily I only missed Tuesday's class.

On Wednesday we got two new missionaries in our room! Sister Johnson, who is going to the West Indies, speaking Dutch....she will be Sister King's first companion in the field in about six weeks! And Sister Hartlee, who is going to Norway, speaking Norwegian! All five of us are solo sisters. Haha! They are so fun to have in our room.

Thursday was so great! I got a killer package from Sarah (shout out to Sarah!) with all sorts of wonderful things. Thanks so much!! I also got my travel plans!! It's actually real... I'm actually leaving for Romania at some point in my life! I leave for Salt Lake City at 4:30 on Monday morning.. (Yeah! A week from today!) Elder Manning and I will be flying to Atlanta at about 8:30. In Atlanta, we meet up with my companion and the two elders who are going to the same mission as her and all fly to Amsterdam together. We drop them off in the Netherlands and from there fly to Bucharest! WHERE I WILL SERVE FOR SEVENTEEN MONTHS! AHHHHH.

Friday was by far the best day of the week. Even though this past week has been great, I haven't been feeling as spiritual as I have my other weeks here, and what little process I've made in learned Romania has come to an abrupt halt. So I turned to my patriarchal blessing for some inspiration... What stood out to me was this: "I bless you to find yourself on your knees pondering what it is Father in Heaven wants for you. The Spirit will speak to you in kind and gentle ways. As you listen, as you obey, the Spirit will become ever more strong in you." So I've really been focusing on praying for what God wants for me. So Friday morning rolls around and I teach a TRC lesson. I taught a return missionary about revelation through the Book of Mormon. When I asked her what role it had played in her life, she told me a story about how she didn't want to go on a mission....but as she read the scriptures it was revealed to her that she needed to go. I was prompted to share a certain experience with her of when I had already gotten my call and was really, really struggling. My dad, (shout out to dad) told me to read Psalms 55:22 (go read it!) and it was totally a revelation to me at the time. I shared this with her and bore my simple Romanian testimony that God loves us enough to reveal His will with us through scriptures, prayer and the Holy Ghost. The spirit was so strong in the lesson and she told me after how beautiful my testimony is and how glad she was that I had shared it with her. My teacher pulled me aside in class afterwards and told me how great it was. Okay, now here's where the story gets good.... I got on my knees during my personal study time to thank the Lord for helping me to teach even though I can't speak the language. This very clear and distinct thought popped into my head... "The only reason you've been struggling to learn the language is because I want you to learn how to teach with the Spirit first." I was blown away. I started crying and thanked the Lord for being so merciful and patient with me. This whole time I have been BEGGING Him to help me with the language and I was missing what He was trying to teach me! I feel kind of silly now because I was so focused on what I wanted that I missed what He knows I need first! Just like the promise in my blessing said, if I prayed for what the Lord wanted for me -- He would reveal it to me. Now I know where I need to focus on this last crucial week. I know that I'll get the language on the Lord's time, not mine.

Today, we woke up at two in the morning to ship Sister King off to the West Indies. She was so excited she ran the whole way....while Sister Adams and I sleeping drug her bags behind her. Hahaha.

Anyway, you won't be hearing from me next until I'm in Romania! So one more thing....I do get to call home on Monday morning when I'm at the airport. BUT I can't call internationally....so I don't get to talk to you mom and dad... :( But I do plan on calling all the sibs for a couple minutes each. Will all of you please send me your numbers by Saturday? Just shoot me a quick email. Thanks!

I think that's it. I'm really pressed for time, so sorry for all the typos and random thoughts. I love you all! God loves each and every one of you and wants to see you all again some day. The church is true!!

PROFITE DE ZILE

-Sora Schwab