Craciun Fericit!! I hope that everyone had a great Christmas. This week was crazy with seemingly little work. We had a lot of member visits which was good. It was definitely good to build those relations with the members and it was much needed. I also got food out of it which was wonderful. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we had wonderful meals for Zone Conference, the branch Christmas party and just for Christmas. I got to try a lot of Romanian food for the first time which was great. I ate Sarmale, Salata de Beouf, Cozonac, Ciorba and other stuff that I know was pickled, but didn't really know what it was. It was all so good and Sunday I ate way too much, but I just didn't want to pass up the experience and wish I had eaten more. I have no regrets :) I also got to go to an American families home again and eat an American Christmas meal. They got us all gifts that we fought over in a gift exchange game thing they had. What were the gifts, they were American food like Butterfingers, Mac and Cheese, Pop Tarts and so on. We were super excited to see them. You can't get anything like that here, so we were very happy and grateful to see and receive them. I ended up with the Pop Tarts :) That made me happy.

So Sunday we walked into Church and the Branch President told us we would all be speaking. This was terrifying for me. But I got through it. I definitely have a lot to learn and the other missionaries did a lot better, but I know that when I am out here as long as they are that I will know as much as they do. It just takes practice. Afterwards, all the members swarmed me and gave me hugs and said I did a great job. There was literally no way out haha. It was nice just overwhelming. They are really loving people though. I even got a hug from Sora Petrisor (not the MTC teacher, but her sister) It made me really happy. Then we went and ate way too much and then we had service! We got to go to an orphanage and sing with kids. It was an amazing experience! Finally, I got to Skype home. It was wonderful to see my family and the kitties :) It was too short, but I loved every minute :)

Shout outs:

Alicia: you are getting married like tomorrow!! I sent you a letter so be looking for it. I love you so much and you can email me pictures if that is easier ;) Love you!

John Woodruff: Thank you for the email. It was very exciting haha. I am now expecting a letter from you in the mail though haha. I am not looking forward for the adjustment, but I know you are doing a great job because you are John Woodruff and you are awesome.

Okay well I need to go. I love all of you. I hope that you have all had a great Christmas and that you will have a great New Year's. Remember to think about why we have this time of year in the first place. Remember the Savior and all that he has done for you. Take the time to make goals for the new year so that you become a better person.

Love,

Sora Krissy Hall

First I want to give some shout outs:

John Woodruff!! I can't believe you are home already. That is so crazy to me. Thank you so much for your email this week. I can get emails from others, just can't respond back. Bah it seems so weird that it has already been two years. Also tell your brothers that I am so excited for them to get their mission calls. I don't know which missions just that they are in Brazil so let me know! I can't wait.

Alicia Lewis: In the event that you will be crazy busy next week, I want you to know that I will have a party (like a mini one, probably during a meal or something) on the 27th to celebrate your wedding. I am so extremely excited for you and I want you to know that I love you. If there was any way I could share that experience with you I would. I got your letter last week so it takes about 2-3 weeks to get letters here. Thank you so much for you love and letters. They make me so happy. I also want to see pictures! It will drive me nuts haha. But whenever you have time I would love to see some. You are amazing and you will be absolutely stunning next week.

Tatiana: Girl I love you! I am writing you a letter today so just know that.

Next: Some of you may know that my grandpa passed away this week. I want everyone to know that I am doing fine. I have a tone of work here and I am keeping super busy. I feel very at peace with everything which is probably a first when compared to all the other people I have known that have died. I am grateful to have had him as a grandfather and even though he wasn't perfect I learned a lot from him, more so than any other grandparent. I am sad that I won't be at the funeral but my love and prayers go out to my family and loved ones that will be there. I hope that you can feel that peace that I feel.

Other than that, this week has gone very well. The Lord has blessed me with strength and love all week. We have been out working very hard and serving a lot of people. This last Sunday was also the first Sunday I didn't get a headache in church because of all the Romanian haha. So we are making ground. I am also understanding more and slowly developing my language. It is great.

This week we are sharing messages with members in order to strengthen our relationships with them. We have the zone conference/party on Friday and then Sunday we get to Skype home (yep that's right I get to see my family haha) and then we are going to an orphanage to do service. I can't wait. This is going to be an amazing week.

I am exhausted and yet I can't wait to do more. What a weird feeling. They Lord definitely watches out for us and knows all of our problems and concerns. Everyday I recognize why I have been called to Romanian and why I am here in Bucharest. It was definitely divinely inspired.

I hope you all have a great week and a very Merry Christmas (Craciun Fericit).

La Multi Ani!!

Love Sora Krissy Hall

Hello to all the people I love! This week has been crazy! But first a story from last week that I forgot. So Dec 1st is Romania Day. They have the day off and there is a military parade. We thought it would be a good chance to advertise for our English classes that started this week. So we went and passed out fliers. A man stopped me and spoke to me in almost perfect English and said "wait you're Mormons right" So we talked for a bit and I was able to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and how we got it, basically the Restoration. He had lived in Texas for a year and a half and that is where he heard about the church. I was dumb and gave him our number and said if you want to know more to call. It reminded me of the Best Two Years. Well I was bummed when I realized I did that but I felt like, just like in the movie that if I had hope it would all work out. Guess what! He signed up for English classes and was at church yesterday. He really wants to know more. The other Elders are teaching him (oh and he has a wife and 9 year old son), which kind of makes me a little bummed, but not really. So if he gets baptized I feel like it would be okay to take credit for seeing him first and running into him. So long story short, my life is like a movie and it is awesome :D

Fun Fact: The toilet paper here all has scents to it. I am not sure why but they do. Ours currently smells like peaches. It is pretty cool.

So the week started out like normal but out of the blue Sora Wilson was sent to another companionship so we have been on our own since Friday. As soon as she left we have been running everywhere. We don't leave late, just the metro and tramvai and various other things have caused us to run. So on Fri. we ran to the tramvai and there were some old fashion gypsy women in the front. They saw us, got up and crowded and then tried to trip us as we got on and then we felt them grab at our bags. So we kept going and we were just too fast for them. That was fun. Oh sidenote- I have also seen two gypsy carts which make me really happy :). Anyways we weren't mad but now we will just be cautious no matter who we are with.

Our lessons have gone well since Sora Wilson is gone, but now I actually have to talk haha. It is good. It is definitely pushing us to the limits but I know we will be great. It will just take time. It is cool to be in lessons and to get a point across and for others to understand in another language. That is amazing.

Oh I am also teaching English now. That is fun, except that I have no idea how this works. English was never my strong point so it makes me nervous but I know that it will all work out. I just have to get better at teaching in general. That is the key to it all. We have a class of about 8 people, oh and we teach the medium level. It is a really great experience.

Can I just say how much I love it here. My hair smells like smoke everyday when I get home, and I am completely exhausted but I love it. It is starting to feel like home. I love the members and the amazing testimonies they have. I also love the food. It just makes me so happy. This is the hardest thing I have ever done and there are times when I get frustrated and wonder what I am doing here because I can't understand or can't get a point across. But those days where you look into a persons eyes and know that they can feel your spirit and know that what is being said is true, that is what makes it worth it. That is the most amazing feeling ever.

I love you all. Be safe and share your light!

Sora Krissy Hall

This week was forever long. It just never seemed to end. That's how the MTC felt at first (not quite this long though), so hopefully that means it will speed up. We had more lessons this week which was good and we have a new investigator Cristi Popa (male). He is really smart and has studied a lot about Christ. His views seem to go really well with what the Church believes and so far he has come to church 2 weeks in a row. That is great! We work a lot with less active members. It is great to find these people and see them change and realize that they are cared about and that they haven't been forgotten.

So we ride the tramvai whenever we go over to the church building. They always have children on the them that beg. It reminds me of Slumdog Millionaire and how the bad people sent the kids to beg. I don't understand all that they say, but it is still very sad. It again makes me grateful for the blessings I have had in my life. It also kind of makes me grateful that there are rules that we can't give them money. I would be very tempted to do it, especially to the cute little ones. Being here has shown me what true poverty is and how poverty in different countries can be so different. I never experienced any poverty like I have here. That brings me gypsies. I have seen some that I know just by looking at them that they are gypsies. However, you can't always tell just by looks. Frankly, I don't want to know if a person is before I get to know them. I feel that puts unfair labels and some of the people that I have found to be gypsies are some of the most family oriented and nicest people I have met. I guess it really just depends. But they really haven't been an issue as far as teaching or bringing them to church, at least from what I have seen so far. I realize this could be because I am in a city where there is a large mixture of people and cultures.

Funny story: So I would like to thank a Stephen Wirthlin for teaching the Romanian districts useful words. I think every word he told us I have heard and now I am one of the only people that know what it means. That leads me to yesterday. We had a lesson with a members daughter in law. She wasn't there when we showed us so we just stayed and talked with the member. She had been stressed the week before and we wanted to make sure that she was doing better. Her husband isn't a member so he drinks a lot. He came and introduced himself to me. He told me his name and then proceeded to say that he was a barosan. Thanks to Brother Wirthlin I knew that this meant he said he was a stud/pimp. It was hilarious because my companions didn't know what this meant until after we left. The rest of the lesson he played the piano (hymns actually). When we asked how he knew them, Mihaela, his wife told us that he can play any song by ear and that he heard them because she sings them all day. She is an amazing woman. He was hilarious and we left wondering what he could do if he wasn't drunk every time we came over. What power and talents would he have. But I don't think I will ever forget how he introduced himself. He was just so proud of himself when he said it.

Anyways, it is definitely hard working here. But I am grateful to learn from the people everyday. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the Gospel and how it can help change people's lives for the better. I love you all.

Love Sora Krissy Hall

So guess what? I LIVE in Romania now :D The flight over here was crazy. It was extremely long and our final flight was delayed so we got in even later than we anticipated. It was so great to see the Mission President and his wife as well as the Assistants. They got all of our things and took us to the mission office where I got to see the Pattons. It was great to see some familiar faces in a not so familiar place. We then had some craziness with our medical exams and didn't end up getting them done so we had learned we had to stay in Bucharest for another day. That night the sisters picked us up and we went and got shoarmas (not entirely sure about the spelling) But they were absolutely amazing!! We got up the next morning and went to the park where Romania was dedicated and opened to missionaries in February of 1990. It was a really cool experience. Then we went and lunch at the president's house and then waited for the sisters from all the other areas come for an impromptu sisters conference. There are about 85 missionaries in Romania and 25 of those are sisters. It is pretty awesome. At the conference we found out who our companions would be and where we would be serving. I found out I would stay in Bucharest and Sora Atkins would be my trainer. Sora Wilson would also be with us because she only has 2 more weeks before she goes home to Australia. It is great. We then went and got all of our medical exams finished and the following day we finished our work for our Visas. Then we all went our separate ways. It was kind of sad but really exciting to know that we are all going to have such different experiences and adventures. I am really excited to still be in Bucharest. Sora Bulloch always said she wanted to stay because it was the warmest during the winter and she isn't a fan of the cold. I told her that would jinx everything and she would get sent to the coldest. Well I was right, she has been sent to Brasov which is one of the coldest places where sisters are sent. I feel really bad because I am still freezing here in Bucharest so she must be feeling even colder. She will do a great job though.

Let's see what can I say about Bucharest. Well I absolutely love it. It reminds me a lot of LA, except a lot colder. The buildings are just beautiful and it is cool to see the mixture of decades of architecture all around. A lot of it reminds me of 1920s or so architecture in LA but slightly more run down. A lot of the blocks (large apartment building things) are being redone in a sense. They are taking styrofoam and putting it on the outside and then covering that with plaster and paint. This makes the buildings look new, especially when new windows are put it. It is slightly misleading because we will look outside and it look like it is snowing but really it is just styrofoam falling down.

The People: I love just looking at the people. I have seen more variation in eye color here than I have every seen in my life. It is beautiful. There are also a ton of blond children running around. I wasn't expecting that at all. Really I am so happy to be working with these people. There is one thing that I have noticed that seems to be a commonality here. Many people don't have teeth. It makes me very grateful to have grown up in a country that takes care of their teeth so that I will actually have my teeth when I am 40. A lot of things really make me grateful to have been so blessed growing up. It makes me the love the people even more for living in harder circumstances and still having faith in God.

The Smell: It smells like cigarette smoke. So when I come home I know that is what I will smell like. It gave me awful headaches the first few days but now I am better. Which I guess might not be the best thing to be used to. But whatever. There is also another smell that comes out every now and again. It isn't horrible but just different. I am still trying to place it.

Overall: I am so excited to be here. I have the hardest time trying to understand the accents but I know I will learn it. It is cold but I am glad that I will be able to be here for the next couple transfers. It feels a lot like the first week at the MTC. Very overwhelming at times and frustrating but I know that will pass, just like it did in the MTC. Everyday I learn more. I am so grateful for my teachers in the MTC because if I was any less prepared I would be going crazy right now.

Final Notes: I should probably mention that I am in the Panduri branch which has a beautiful church building. There aren't a lot of members but they have amazing testimonies.

- Sora Petrisor- With things that I hear about how often sisters are getting transferred right now I might be here when/if you come in March. Also I saw/met your sister on Sunday. She is beautiful, it made me miss you.

-Fratele Irion- so your story about Elder Reed and the Tramvai is a lot funnier now that I have been on one. Thanks for sharing that with us.

I love you all. Take care.

Va iubesc
Sora Krissy Hall

KRISSY IS IN ROME

Hey everyone, Krissy arrived safely in Romania. We got this letter from her mission president right after she arrived:

Dear Hall Family,

Yesterday afternoon, Sister Hall arrived safely at the Bucharest airport where Sister Hill and I welcomed her.  Although a bit tired, she seemed very happy to finally be in Romania.  This morning we took her with the other new missionaries to Chismigiu Gardens in downtown Bucharest.  On a little wooded hilltop in the middle of the gardens, we sang a hymn, prayed and read the dedicatory prayer given by Elder Russell M. Nelson on February 9th, 1990 to open the country of Romania to preaching the gospel.   I have attached a photo of her with Sister Hill and me on that hill.  Today we hosted her in the mission home for some training and tomorrow she will leave on a train for her first assignment: to labor in the city of Bucharest with her new companions and trainers, Sister Atkin and Wilson.

Thank you for sending us such a faithful and talented missionary.  We already love her.
With appreciation,

President Ned C. Hill
Romania Moldova Mission

Here's a photo of her with her mission president:

Here is Krissy with her trainers, Sora Atkin and Sora Wilson (KRISSY IS IN THE MIDDLE):

Finally, Krissy had a special treat or surprise or whatever it's called because a member who was from Krissy's home ward growing up is now serving with his wife in the Bucharest mission. Here are Elder and Sister Patton with Krissy (KRISSY IS AGAIN IN THE MIDDLE, AND ELDER PATTON IS ON THE RIGHT):

We look forward to hearing from Krissy again someday. Send her letters until then!

Kristena is in Romania or should I say Sora Hall is in Romania. For those who do not know, Sora is Sister in Romania and while serving her mission she will be called Sora Hall by those who work with her. But I am her mom and I she will always be Krissy to me. :)
She left from Salt Lake City on Monday, 21 November 2011 at 8:30 am. She flew to Seattle, Washington, from there she flew to Paris, France and then onto Budapest, Romania arriving there 22 November at 2:15pm. Long day of travel for her. She got to call her family members from the Seattle airport yesterday before leaving the states. She sounds GREAT! She is very excited to finally get to Romania. I asked her to speak to me in Romanian and she spoke a few words but I noticed that if one of the other sisters with her asked her a question, they did it in Romanian and she responded very fluently in Romania back. I don't think they were even aware they were speaking in Romania, it was soo cute!
She is very realistic about the language knowing that the language that she has been learning for the last nine weeks will sound totally different once she is in Romania. I am sure if you have been to a foreign country you can relate to that. She is looking forward to meeting her Mission President and his wife, to seeing Rick and Sandy Patton (Rick is an old family friend that is serving in the mission home with his wife) and meeting her trainer and first companion. Companion is the term giving to the room mate that she will have. She is also excited to find out what city she will be assigned to first. She will email us on her next "P-day", )prep day - a day that the missionaries have to do laundry, shopping, letter writing, etc.).
It was good talking to her and hearing her sweet voice again. I look forward to our next call at Christmas. Until then I will continue to post her letter's as she sends them.

Thank you to everyone that wrote letters this week. I really needed the love and got it through your letters. I only have a week and a half before I leave to Romania and I couldn't be more excited. I feel so blessed to be here and to have already learned so much. It has definitely been a stressful 9 weeks but it has been worth it. It seems so surreal that I will be leaving but I still can't wait.

The new district of Romanians is learning so fast. They are so sweet and we love being around them. It is cool to be on this side of things and to know more than others for a change haha. But they will catch up very soon.

This week has been stressful, but the Lord has blessed me with lots of patience and love to those around me. We are getting through the lessons with investigators and it is great. We have one baptismal date and will have another before the week is out. It is so cool to see how the Gospel can change lives so drastically and make people so happy.

I am going to make a shout out to Alicia Lewis and just say that she looks absolutely beautiful in her engagement pictures! Thank you so much for sending me an announcement :)

Well there isn't much going on other than that. I love you all. Just think next weeks post will be my last from the states for the next 16 months! How awesome!

Te iubesc!

Sora Krissy Hall

This week has been stressful. There are lots of things happening and it is very burdensome at times. However I have seen the Lord helping our district through it everyday, whether it is through our teachers or placing people we know and love (like Sister Willnauer) in places where we can see them and talk to them. I am so grateful for that. We have new Romanian missionaries coming in this week, two sisters and one elder. We are extremely excited. We also found out today that one of the elders that is Russian speaking and going to our mission (in Moldova) has had his leaving date pushed back so he will leave with us. We are so excited to have an elder come with us. He is amazing and so nice, it is great.
We got new district leaders this week that are going to Australia. One is actually from there originally and has an amazing accent. They are a group of amazing men and we feel so blessed to have them. We are teaching them Romanian and they are learning really fast. They can almost have conversations with us. It is crazy. They Lord has definitely blessed us with great district leaders while we have been here. By the time we leave we will have had 5 sets of district leaders and honestly each one teaches us something new. What a blessing.

Well I don''t have much more time. I love you all and I hope all is well.

Va iubesc!!

Sora Krissy Hall

This week went pretty well. I am still working hard on the language and praying everyday that something sticks haha. The weather is getting a little colder but the beautiful trees make it worth it. Things are going pretty well with our investigators and we are trying to rely more on the Spirit than any scripts or things written out. We continue to push forward. I have realized that there have been many people that have given up everything (lives, families, money, etc) to go on a mission. It is definitely a blessing to be here. I am trying to get more in tune with the Spirit and do what it tells me the first time. It is not an easy thing, especially when speaking in another language. Each day I try harder. I want to be someone that can be an instrument in the Lord's hands that he can direct so I can best serve my fellow man. I want to be someone he can trust. I am grateful that I have this experience to learn and grow. I have some pictures that I will send home and will hopefully get up on here. We have a lot of fun on Sundays :) The temple walks are the best. Well there isn't too much more to say. Life is just pretty great here, but I still can't wait to get out to the field. Next week we get new Romanian Missionaries which is awesome. Now our secret language will be slightly less secret haha. I do want to say that I am excited that Elder Nate Munk has made it to a year this week. I also want to wish Brittany Keele a fast recovery. She is in my prayers. I love you all. Take care and know how much I appreciate all your love and support.

Te iubim!!!

Sora Krissy Hall

Happy Birthday to my brother, cousin, uncle and the many other October birthdays this month. I love you all. This week was great. I am grasping the language a little better every day. Last night Richard G. Scott came and talked to us. He basically said that we are preparing now for the rest of our lives and that we need to make sure that we are open to the promptings of the spirit. It was amazing. We then had a distict meeting with our corresponding elder district (going to the Houston Texas mission) and it was great. They are some of the most amazing elders I have ever met. They even come in and sing with us in Romanian. It is great to see elders taking the mission this seriously and constantly serving. Our investigators are starting to more of what we ask which is always great. So overall life is great. I do have to say that today I am a little sore. Yesterday I played four square and made some pretty epic dives for the ball. But it paid off. I was in there longer that any of the girls and longer than the majority of guys :D Well I don't have too much time left. But I want you all to know that I love you and I am so grateful for you support. So thank you. I know that what I am doing is right and that is affirmed ever minute I am here. I am so happy and I know that the happiness will only grow as I am out here and once I get to Romania. I am so excited for it all.

I love you all,

Sora Krissy

Life is great here! The language is coming along which is so exciting! The Lord is definitely helping me out. Our practice investigators are both very difficult. One is a drug addict and has lost hope in God and himself. He was the hard one all along but now our other one (who does everything we ask, except pray) told us she doesn't want to pray because she knows God will tell her to change and she is content with life. She is so against change that nothing we have said will have any effect. She basically told us that we have to prove to her that change is a good thing and that it is part of God's plan. It is a little frustrating but I know that is how it will be out in the field. It is so great to have the opportunity to improve people's lives. Even if it means thinking outside of the box and out of our comfort zones. I know that Lord provides for those doing his work. I have already seen it in my life. The gospel is such a blessing because it teaches that life can always get better. That as you change and progress you not only feel better about yourself but you help improve the lives of those around you. It reminds me of the quote "be the change you want to see in the world." That is what the gospel teaches. Make that change for yourself so the world is better for everyone. What a blessing that is to know that. Thank you again for all those who sent me notes or things for my birthday (esp. Sue Richart for the yummy cookies). I really appreciate the support. I love you all.

Sora Hall

First of all I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes and things they sent me, especially family, Tatiana, Alicia, Jocelyn, Landen and Shelly. I really appreciate it. It made it really special. This last week was a little rocky because I got sick. I actually slept in during Sun morning conference because I felt so gross. But I caught up on the talks and I am now feeling so much better! The language is coming along slowly and it gets frustrating at times. I feel very blessed to be here though. My favorite talk from conference had to be Uchtdorf's Forget-me-not talk. I realize that was from Relief Society but I watched it Sat. It was so uplifting! Well once again I don't have too much time left, but thank you to everyone for your support and love.

Sora Hall

9/28/2001

Hey everybody!

I only have about 5 more min to write this so I will be brief. I love it here. It was definitely overwhelming the first few days but after Sunday things got a lot better. My companion is Sora Bulloch and we work so well together. I feel so blessed. We have taught 3 lessons in Romanian already and tonight will be 4. The language is coming along and is kind of difficult but everyday it gets better. I rely a lot on prayer and scripture study. The days are long, about 8 plus hours in the class alone. we don't really even have an hour for meals. But I know this is where I am supposed to be. Thank you so much for those that wrote me letters this week! They really brightened my spirits. Oh, so I found out that I can't email back anyone except immediate family, so use dearelder.com. Its great! I love you all so much and I am so excited to be here doing the work. Love you all!

Sora Hall

PS: For those who don't know Sora is Sister in Romanian

9/21/11

Today I go into the MTC. I am so excited for what lies ahead. Even though I will great miss my friends and family back home I know that this is what I need to be doing with my life. God knows what is best for us and without Him I wouldn't be where I am today. I am so grateful for His love and understanding as well as Christ's loving Atonement. It is such a blessing to be able to devote a year and a half to serving my Heavenly Father and to my fellow man. Thanks you again for helping me get to this point in my life. Love and miss you all.