Hi everyone! This week we did lots more of.....you guessed it! Missionary work.
I started off the week with a fight between my stomach and the Indian food I ate last P-day. The Indian food won.... I spent Monday night throwing up and the next few days staying close to the toliet. But let me just tell you....that chicken curry was so worth it. Count your blessing, you people in America....and India, I guess. We spent the majority of the week trying and failing to get lessons/find less-active members. Saturday finally rolled around when we traveled to Chișinău for our Zone Conference where we met our new mission president, President Ivory. To be honest, Sora Bird and I had been stressing out for a few days to meet him.... But he is so awesome! The first hour was a combined meeting where he, Sora Ivory and his four kids all spoke to the members of Chișinău, Bălți and Orhei. It was great hearing him talking to the members about being more involved in missionary work...something that is really needed out here in Moldova! He also gave his whole talk in Romanian! It was incredible. We had a big lunch with all involved afterwards and it was really great to see the Ivory family socializing with the members. One great thing about the branches in Moldova, is that they're all so small that all three of them are really close. It was lovely to see friends from different towns and to see them all revamped for this gospel. After that we had about four hours of the Ivorys introducing themselves, introducing the ideas he's incorporating into the mission and a total spiritual work-out session. (Literally, we did squats.) The thing he talked about that stood out to me most was optimism. I don't think I've ever mentioned it in my letters, but the Romania/Moldova mission is suprisingly....not. Haha. I was shocked my first couple transfers to see most of the other missionaries being very pessimistic about the work here. I couldn't count how many times I was told not to get my hopes up or not to plan on getting any baptisms. I mean yeah, our mission is world-renowned for being a hard mission... but still! It was so good to hear his say that that wasn't an excuse anymore....that our mission was going to be the most positive mission on this planet and that he wouldn't settle for anything less. This mission is on a tipping-point, folks....and boy, am I ready! :) I later had my first interview with both President and Sora Ivory and it went so well! Oh my gosh! I love them. I am too excited to work with them. When President asked me what he could do for this mission, the only thing I could say was to do exactly what he's doing. He is exactly what this mission needs right now with optimism and hard-work. He is awesome. I wish I had time to type out our conversation, just know that lots of incredible things are coming in the following months!
One great thing about Moldova is the sunflowers. Who would have known, right? There are huuuuuuge fields of sunflowers when you get out into the little villages around Orhei. They are so incredible... But I've only ever seen them as we're traveling to other cities. Well today we went to one! We took a maxi-taxi to Piatra and played in the sunflower fields. It was lovely! You just can't be grumpy standing next to a sunflower that's taller than you. It's impossible. I want to be like those sunflowers...always looking to the sun and letting darkness fall behind them. There will be hard times...that is a promise. This mission is hard....that promise was made to me. But it's how I handle those hard times and negativity that will make me into that sunflower. It's OUR choice if we look to the light instead of dwell in that darkness. Always remember the sunflowers. :)
PROFITE DE ZILE.
-Sora Schwab
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