Monday, March 25, 2024

Throwing it Back

 Bună bună!! 

Highlights:
- Went to Brașov and got to see my boboacă, Sora Barnett!! It was so fun!! We got to reminisce on all our times together, and we even got another McFlurry comp study!! 
- We've set a goal with the missionaries in our branch to go through all our inactive members. This week we worked on a map and a document with all the information for the members we have and now hopefully we can get through it all!
- Got to go on an exchange with the one and only SORA POST (my MTC comp!!) It also has been about 1 year since we got in country and since we've been comps so it was so so fun!! We had a great day streeting, visiting inactive members and talking all about our missions!! 
- On Saturday we had a relief society party!! Two of our friends, Maria and Oana were able to come!! Oana told us she wants to be a member!! Both of them also said they'd come to church!! 
- Games night this week was awesome! It was outside and so many people came!! One of them was our friend Carmen and her daughter Anastasia! Carmen is really interested in the book of mormon and Church!! 
- During Sunday we had a family search activity during 2nd hour, and it was an awesome experience and our members are excited to start to get their names to the temple! 
Not-so-Highlights:
- Maria and Oana did not in fact come to church but there's always next week! 
Gând Spiritual:
"If [we] would open [our] hearts to the refining influence of this unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, a glorious new spiritual dimension would come to light." - Elder Joseph B Wirthlin 
Vă Iubesc!!
Sora Hansen

Monday, March 18, 2024

ZONE CONFERENCE!!!!

 Bună bună!! 

Alright I don't have a lot of time but here's the week!! 
Highlights:
- Zone conferences!!! Always a blast!! Got to see all the homies!! We studied covenants and it was an amazing experience!! I really loved the opportunity to learn more about my relationship with God!
- Lesson with Ianis!! We finally got to meet with him again and I'm so glad we did!! It kind of got swayed in a few different directions but all good!!
- Service project!! It was awesome!! We made kits for kids in the hospital.
- We had an big crowd at church this week and lots of people we have been trying to get to church that came! 
Gând Spiritual:
- "When we obey the commandments of the Lord and serve His children unselfishly, the natural consequence is power from God—power to do more than we can do by ourselves. Our insights, our talents, our abilities are expanded because we receive strength and power from the Lord. " 
Elder Richard G. Scott
Covenants are amazing. They help us draw closer to God and help us grow our relationship with him. Through this relationship we receive His power. I'm so thankful for my covenants and my relationship with him.
Vă Iubesc,
Sora Hansen 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Always keep the kitchen locked!

 Bună bună!

Highlights:
- Went to Ploiești with Sora Fowler to an exchange with the Surori there. My comp, Sora Stark, just served there and had a friend getting baptized!! So we got to be there for that too!! It was awesome!
-had an awesome finding session, trying to get people to church!! 
-had an exchange with the Surori from Constanța!! I was with Sora McEwen and it was so fun!! We did some service in the morning then headed to Sora Stoicas house for some fire soup and then had some great finding time and an amazing comp study. Then we capped off the day with a member meal at one of the American families in our branch, the Bill's. We had Mexican food and I was in heaven.
-Played soccer at games night
Funny:
- We have this member in our branch who just isn't all there. He loves going around taking a bunch of stuff. This Sunday was particularly eventful because he got his hands on the whipped cream and put his whole mouth on it to squirt it out. And he found some women's clothes he really wanted to try on. Haha church here is never boring, I'll say that much.
Gând Spiritual:
- Cool thought this week. We had a zoom lesson with our new member Hannah. We talked about our covenants. My companion asked Hannah how she remembers her baptismal covenants (due to circumstances right now she doesn't have the ability to come to church). She told us that she prays to God and asks him to help her remember them. Wow. I'd never thought of that before. Fast-forward to sacrament meeting and I'm pondering on the covenants I've made, and kind of wishing that I had the opportunity to go the temple since in been over a year now since I've had the opportunity. Then it hit me, I prayed just like Hannah and it was amazing. My mind flooded with memories and experiences in the temple. I felt a piece the peace and love that exists there. Covenants are powerful. I'm so grateful to be connected with Christ through them. I feel his love and come to know him more everyday through them. 
Vă Iubesc!!
Sora Hansen

Monday, March 4, 2024

#iamacertifiedzoomtech

 Bună bună!!

Highlights:
-Exchange in Galati with Sora Fowler! Got to see the Sora Post (my MTC comp)!! Ate good food, had some awesome member visits and chopped some wood (or attempted too). 
-Visited Sora Isac and we were supposed to go over and craft, but it ended up just being her preparing a bunch of stuff for us to craft later, and us just listening. But it was so fun!
-Exchange with the Oradea Surori here in Buc! I got to exchange with Sora Muir! I haven't really served around her and didn't know her too well so it was fun to get to know her and learn from her!
-We met with Oana, on of our members, we read from Emily Belle Freeman's conference talk. Oana loved it and we testified of the power we can receive from covenants. Oana told us she actually has been wanting to go to the temple this year to take out her endowment and would love our help in preparing!! 
-Had an awesome finding sesh with Sora Muir! The first person we talked to lives super close to the church and is interested! We also tackled talking to the youths (😬 scary...) but it was good and we were able to get a number and place a Book of Mormon.
-MARȚIȘOR!! Starting on March 1st, Romania celebrates spring by giving women and girls little pins and bracelets with small charms and red and white strings (White representing the snow, and red the flowers coming in). Then you wear these until the end of March! So fun right? 
-In București we had a baptism in each of the branches, and it is such a cool experience to support these friends on their first step on the covenant path!! 
-For one the Baptisms our friend Marius came. We actually got him as a referral from missionaries in the Caribbean, and this was our first meet up! He is so awesome and curious about our church! He asked us about a million questions, but they were all so good! And he genuinely just wanted to know more!
Not-so-Highlights:
-Spent 4 hours this week ordering pass-along cards. But it's all done now so let's go!! 
Gând Spiritual:
- "To serve in this Church is to stand in the river of God's love for His children" 
           -Elder Robert M. Daines
This week we studied Elder Daines' talk "Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus" from this last General Conference. This quote makes me think of all the times I have heard that if you're having a hard time to look outward, look to serve. Or one of my mission leaders, Sora Fowler, always tells us that "the byproduct of service is love".  And this is why. When we don't feel like God's love for ourselves, as we turn to help others his love runs through us to them. We can't help but get soaked by it.
Vă Iubesc!
Sora Hansen