RomanianReport: June 2, 2014 - Isus Hristos si Cartea lui Mormon este temelia mele!

Buna! What the heckers, it's already been a week? Haha. I feel like I don't really have a whole lot to tell you guys this week. I literally do the same thing everyday! BUT IT IS THE BEST THING EVER. I love being a missionary and doing this work!

There really wasn't that much that happened this week. But the highlights are as follows---

-Exchange with our Sister Training Leaders. I was with Sora Merrill this time and I learned so much! I focused on teaching by the Spirit instead of teaching by Romanian. It's interesting how much lessons and contacts change when you're focusing on what the Holy Ghost is telling you instead of how to say something from your mind in Romanian. It really helps! It turned out being a great day....and we didn't get lost this time! But it was so good to get back with Sora Tanner. We basically had separation anxiety. I don't know what's going to happen when one of us gets transfered...

-Old man futbol game! Okay. So fun story! There were posters all over Cluj about this charity futbol game this past week...and the tickers were super cheap! There is an elder in our district who is in his last transfer and has always wanted to go to a futbol game here and never has been able to. So he got our whole district permission from President Hill to go to this one! We got there and quickly realized why the tickets were so cheap and why it was for charity.... One team was the University of Cluj team from 1990-1995....and the other team was the Romanian National Team from the same years. So it ended up being a ton of 40-50 year old men halfsies-running around the field. We all had a good laugh and ended up leaving at half time. But it was still fun!

-The same elder who is leaving at the end of this transfer, Elder Swenson, and his companion, Elder Jarman are on a "special assignment" this transfer. Basically they travel around the whole mission and check all the computers to make sure they're running properly. This past week they traveled to Bucharest AND BROUGHT ME BACK DR. PEPPER. The only place you can find this drink in all of Romania is in certain little shops in Bucharest... It was one of the times that it was really hard not to hug the Elders. Haha. I was so happy! I drank them both that night. (Hint: Dr. Pepper would be great in a package... No pressure....)

Okay, see what I mean when I say I don't really do anything other than missionary work? Hahaha. Anyway, spiritual thought for the week! I love the Book of Mormon! It is so great! Every second of spare time I have (which is not a lot) I read in the Book of Mormon. I've made a personal goal to read the Cartea lui Mormon (the Book of Mormon in Romanian) by my six month mark. I know... I'm crazy. Haha. That's what everyone out here thinks too. Most people don't read it until at least a year....but I can't wait that long to learn this language! There have been multiple prophets and apostles promise that if we read the Book of Mormon in our mission language, we will without a doubt improve in the language. To reach my goal, I have to read seven and a half pages every day....and I haven't missed a day yet! It's incredible how many words I've learned and how much I've learned about sentence structures and grammar from Cartea lui Mormon! With reading it in Romanian and reading in English during personal study, my days are filled with this incredible book. The verse I'd like to share with you all is Helaman 5:12---

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men are they cannot fall."

Man. Isn't that an awesome promise? If we build our foundation on Jesus Christ (and I'm adding my two bits to this verse....) and on the Book of Mormon, a sure testimony of Jesus Christ, we cannot fall.... not "maybe won't," not "probably won't," but CANNOT. I know that this is true! I love this gospel and I love being a missionary. Have such a great week!

PROFITE DE ZILE.

-Sora Schwab