Happy New Year!!  This week has been crazy!  But hey I got to talk to my family which was awesome. Plus Sanda is going to be baptized next Sunday!  We are so excited for her.  She is so ready and this will be such a huge blessing for her.  Iulia is doing great. She is having a hard time since her husband lost his job, but they are trying to remain hopeful.  She loves that the gospel can bring her that hope.  Roxana is progressing and doing great.  It is so awesome to see her learn about God and Jesus from the basics.  She is so open to learning it, it is just new to her.  I really admire her for learning and wanting to learn it all.  

I am just so inspired by the people here.  They are amazing.  I learn so much from them and they make me want to be a better person.  I know that God loves them just like how I know He loves me.  I see that everyday in the little blessings that are all around me.  So this year I wish all of you love and a renewed sense that God knows each of us individually.  He loves us and is always there for us.  We just need to turn towards him.  I love you all.  La Multi Ani!

Love, 

Sora Krissy Hall

PS- Congrats to Jacob for (as I hear it) a successful return home talk!  Welcome Home!

Craciun Fericit!!  Merry Christmas!
 I hope that you all are able to be with people you love as you remember the birth of our Savior.  I just love that I have the opportunity to be here in Romania for a 2nd Christmas.  The branch here is so loving and have been fighting to have us come over so they can feed us ha.  It is so sweet.  The holiday here is much more centered on the children and doing things for them.  It is so sweet.  I love Romania!  I am so excited to call tomorrow and see how the family is doing.  I can't believe this is my last call home.  Time flies so fast and I just love how much I have learned over the last year or so.  For Christmas this year we have been told we can watch two films (and just to explain how awesome our mission is, The Hobbit [Hobbitul] has been approved).  We are all so excited and just love all those that are so supportive to us.  Oh we also have a new senior couple, the Cooks.  They are awesome and I am so excited to have them here.  Well I have to write some others.  But know that I love you all and my thoughts and prayers are with all those I love this holiday season (in Romania and in the rest of the world).  Christ lives and loves us all so much.  Remember that as you enjoy this time with you loved ones :)

Love
Sora Krissy Hall

This week went crazy fast.  We just got back from Bucharest and the Christmas Zone Conference.  It was so much fun and I got some pretty scarves :)  We also got to see the slideshow of all of the pictures that missionaries sent in from the past year.  It made me miss a lot of the people that have already gone home.  But it was good.  Got to talk to a lot of people and meet some new people.  It was a lot of fun, but I am exhausted from it ha. 

As far as our investigators.  Iulia is doing amazing!  We started reading with her from the Book of Mormon (from the beginning) and she is getting it!  She is feeling the joy from the gospel and knowing that what she is doing is right.  We are still working on smoking but, it is going great.  She is amazing!  We also played with her kids as they taught us some Romanian kid games and we taught them ring around the rosie.  It was so much fun.  Sanda is just amazing as well.  She is so prepared and just wants to be baptized.  It is hard because we have to say no because she needs to stop smoking first.  But she is getting there.  At this point her baptism will be the week after Christmas.  She just loves the church and the members are doing a great job at making her feel included.  She even has a part in the Christmas program on Saturday.  It is wonderful!

I feel like I am so blessed to be here right now!  I am finally able to see how the gospel really changes people and the way they carry themselves.  I can see how much happier both Sanda and Iulia are as we teach them more about Jesus Christ.  It is beautiful.  It just makes me more grateful that I am able to help in some way.  I know that I am supposed to be here right now, with Sora Jones and teaching these people.  They are wonderful people.  Sora Jones and I are loving working together as we try to keep each other strong until the end.  Time is ticking and we want to give it our best.  We just love it!

Well, I love you all!  I hope you all have a great week.  Merry Christmas next week and remember why we have this time to celebrate. 

Love,

Sora Hall

PS- Thank you so much to the Downey 1st Ward Relief Society for their Christmas package!  I really appreciated it.  I love you all and miss you all.  See you all soon :)

 Also, Congratulations to David Woodruff on your marriage.  I am so excited for you!

Christmas lights in Ploiesti, Romania

Dog with a chicken's foot in it's mouth... lol

We got our first snow today!  Winter is officially here and so the missionary work is about to change, at least the type or method of work is about to change.  We will soon be heading into Blocs (apartments) and seeing who we can find there instead of going to parks ha.  I am so excited.  This week we had transfers.  I am now with Sora Jones for her last transfer.  I love her!  She is so much fun and we are both working hard.  We are helping our two investigators that are most ready to be baptized to quit smoking (Iulia and Sanda).  They are doing great.  They love the gospel and what it teaches and are willing to do anything to feel the Spirit of God more fully in their lives.  It is so exciting to see this.  I feel so blessed to be able to be here and to feel like I am actually helping people come unto Christ and to share in His loving Atonement.  It is awesome.  That is what we have been working on the most this week. 

Other than that I got to see the lovely, little Sora Bulloch this week and have a most wonderful 2 hour conversation with her at transfers ha.  I love that girl.  We were both just so happy afterwards and just love being together.  I sadly missed seeing Sora Stark before she headed up to Cluj though, so that was sad.  But I will see her soon anyways. 

Crazy story: So I feel like the first couple of days of the transfer the most crazy things happy.  So on our first full day in Ploiesti we were headed to Iulia's for a lesson and to get her to stop smoking- set up her plan.  On the way we drove through Bereasca (a slightly poorer part of town), when a man throw a giant rock at the back window of the bus.  It thankfully didnt break it.  But the bus driver stopped and yelled and then we sat there for a bit.  I wasn't about to get off the bus, but it was kind of crazy.  I assured Sora Jones that was not normal ha.  Then later that night we were on another bus when a fight started.  We moved up to get out of the way and then got off to avoid it ha.  Oh life as a missionary ha. 

But really it has been a great week.  I am so excited for this transfer and for all it holds.  I love all of you and miss you all a ton.  Have a great week! 

Love,

Sora Krissy Hall

PS- Alicia- I got your letter this week!  Thank you so much!  I love you!

view from apartment of Beauty shop across the street using

 Girl Scout symbol...lol

View from my apartment window in Ploiesti, Romania

Thank you to everyone for all their prayers this week!  I heard from a few people that my mom posted something on my Facebook about my health.  So thank you to all for your concern.  I really appreciate it and I have felt your love this week.  This week was crazy.  We have a good amount of lessons and slept a lot.  I feel so much better now so I am grateful for that.  We also found out transfers this week!  I am going to be staying here in Ploiesti and I will be serving with Sora Jones for her last transfer.  She makes the 4th that I have helped kill (served with/been with right before they go home).  I feel like some are called to train and help those coming in.  My calling must be to kill ha.  I'm not really sure why, but I am excited about staying.  At this rate I might just stay here until I go home.  I would love that though.  I love the people here so much and things are just exploding right now.  On Sunday, Fratele (Brother) Predescu came up to me and asked if we would teach his sister who had been coming to church since before I got here.  She wants to be baptized on the 15th and didn't realize that she needed lessons in order to do so.  So tonight is our first lesson with her.  We are so excited and feel like it is such a blessing.  Also Saturday was Romania Day (also Elder Cunningham's Birthday, so happy birthday to him).  It was amazing to see how much everyone loves their country here.  Romania at times reminds me of 1950s US.  They get so excited about little kiddy rides and they love little carnival type things.  Plus some things they do just remind me of something I would see in an I Love Lucy episode or in Back to the Future.  It is great.  I love it.  They had fireworks Saturday night and everyone came out to see.  I had never seen that many people on the street before.  Plus EVERYONE was smiling!  That doesn't happen a ton here.  It was so sweet to see. It was such a great day!

Other than that things are going well.  I feel like I am really fulfilling my purpose here to bring others to Christ.  What a great feeling that is!  I love our investigators and all I learn from them.  They are such amazing people!  I can't wait to see what this next transfer holds! 

I hope you have a great week and thank you again for all your love and support!

Love
Sora Krissy Hall

This just in. . . being sick on a mission isn't that much fun.  I am now on antibiotics and have been out for the count for about 4 days now.  Whatever I had moved into my lungs and now I have a lovely tightness in my chest.  I would love to say that the drugs are working, but to be honest, I don't know if I am feeling any better since being on them.  But I still have a couple more days to go.  So here's hoping :)

Other than that, life is moving on.  I have one more week left of this transfer.  We find out where we go next transfer this week.  I am excited to see what will happen.  I could leave but I could also stay another transfer.  We will have to wait to see.

Also, we had 4 investigators at church yesterday which was awesome!  Plus 2 brought their families (either kids or husband).  We felt so blessed especially since I have been out for the last few days. 

Earlier this week we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators.  She asked if we had ever heard of the Mayans and their temples.  She then started in on some conspiracy stories about aliens and crystal skulls.  She asked if we had heard of it.  I said yes, because I have indeed seen Indiana Jones 4 :)  Then she went on to Reptilian people and how they are disguised as our leaders.  I had also heard of this due to various Doctor Who episodes.  We decided to teach about the Plan of Salvation as a way to explain why life is hard-- instead of blaming it on our Reptilian leaders (even if it would be a lot easier ha).  After going over the Plan of Salvation she said it made a lot more sense.  It was a great lesson and one of those times where I felt like I was supposed to be there.  That the hours I have spent watching Indiana Jones and Doctor Who actually paid off.  It helped me connect with someone else.  Yay for nerdiness!! :)

We also had Zone Conference this week.  So I got to see the lovely Sora Stark.  It was so much fun to be with her, especially because I didn't feel well.  By Wed my voice was gone and the elders (mainly Elder Knapp) enjoyed hearing me talk- or attempt to.  The conference was great and I got to bring some of Elder Ekins' famous chocolate cake home, which was even more wonderful!  We had Elder Kerr from the 70 and his wife come.  I learned a lot.  It was also such a comfort to see all my friends

That was pretty much my week.  Kind of boring at the end, but still good. Hopefully next week will be even better. 

Thank you to all for your love and support.  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving (which we did celebrate here as a district).  Love you all!!

Sora Krissy Hall

first load moving, essentials- xmas tree, shoes and laundry

What a week!  I can't believe that I got everything done that needed to get done.  First off, I was sick, got better, then got sick again.  But what can you do.  So I am trying to get as much sleep as I can while still getting all the work done that I need to.  Also, thanks for the emails this week, esp, Rach and Richard.  I really appreciate them. 

So this week we moved apartments (we are now closer to Centru, which means we are closer to the church which is awesome!), we got 6 new investigators, got creeped on a bit, I ate brain and just had a lovely time.  So we are now teaching a ton of people which is so cool.  We have 2 families and some young adults.  I feel so blessed.  I can't wait to see where this goes.  I love teaching.  Then when we went over to Tania's (one of my fav people here) she fed me pig brain.  It tasted like eggs, but still kind of make my stomach hate me later ha.  Oh so cool story about the creepers ha.  So we were on the bus heading out to Bereasca and there were a few guys that were just being. . .well guys ha.  Then this one guy told them not to mess with us.  Apparently he had met with missionaries 10 years ago and had a really good opinion of us.  He made the guys promise they wouldn't touch us or bother us.  It was such a blessing and just helped me realize that sometimes things we do now will have an influence or effect on people a lot later.  I couldn't be more grateful for those missionaries and they probably have no idea what impact they had.  It was great.  I am definitely a lot more attentive about how I am coming off to others. 

So this week was awesome!  We are so blessed.  We had some harder times, but the good definitely out weighed the bad.  I feel so blessed to be here and I am so excited to be heading to Buc this week for Zone Conference.  It will be a lot of fun.  I can't wait to see Sora Stark and the other missionaries I love there.

Anyways, I don't know what else to say.  Oh, I guess I can say Happy Thanksgiving!!  I hope everyone has so much fun with their loved ones this year.  Take care and know that I love you and miss you all.  Also- Thanksgiving marks my 1 year in the country mark!  Super excited about that one.  Remember to look for the blessings in your life this week (and always ha). 

Love you all,

Sora Krissy Hall

PS- Congrats to Amaris on her mission call!  That is so exciting!  You will have so much fun and learn so much! 

Branch Farewell party for Elder and Sister Marcovs-some of the

 Relief Society in the Branch.

Poor Dead Fremont

Elder and Sora Marcov's in traditional Romanian clothing

There is so much to write this week!  I don't know if I will be able to have time to write it all, but here we go.  Thank you to all who emailed me, my amazing family and the amazing Richard Bruner ha.  I really appreciate the support.  Also thank you Sue for the package, I have received it ha.  So thank you it is great to eat real chocolate chip cookies ha. 

So this week.  On Monday we had a crazy incident where the Elders came and walked us to the church from Centru.  Thank you Elder Rodenberg and Barclay.  Then we found out we would be moving/ changing apartments with the District Leader (Elder Melville and Preece) so we will be more in Centru.  That will be happening this Thurs :P We also went on exchanges to Brasov where I just fell in love with that city.  The trees were beautiful and changing and the missionary work is exploding.  I was with the lovely Sora Lund and we had a blast talking about Sora Savage (her cousin), Elder Bruner, Dr. Who and Joseph and the Amazing technicolor dream coat (or really listening to the sound track ha).  It was a blast and the work was so much fun.  She is an amazing missionary.  We got home and oh I forgot to mention that before we left for Brasov we found a mouse in our apartment (possibly the same as the one Sora Stark and Sora Hickman saw over this last year).  I tried to catch it, however it squeaked and I kind of jumped back and it ran in its hole.  It was a hit or miss situation and I hit it but then missed it ha.  Anyways, when we got back from Brasov it was dead in our kitchen.  Poor Fremont.  So I put it in a bag and brought it with me to English to scare the Elders.  It was quite enjoyable.  They didn't really know what to do with it ha.  English went well since we switched to the advanced class.  On Saturday we had a surprise party for the Marcov's since they will be heading home in a couple of days.  Our job as missionaries was to get them there.  The branch planned the rest.  Then I translated for Sora Marcov.  It was so sweet to see how much the branch just loved them.  I really don't want to leave them.  But I know I will have to someday.  They are just so loving.  Anyways, so that went well.  It was a crazy week, but I had a lot of fun.  Hopefully this week will be a little less crazy and a little more filled with lessons.  But I want you all to know that I love you all.

Have a great week.

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

This is a media report done by the Romanian media and the church ti help the people of their country understand who the Mormons are.  Krissy's mission president is in it along with some of her friends that are serving missions and members from Bucharest.

http://webtv.realitatea.net/reporterii-realitatii-secretele-mormonilor_903947.html

Halloween in Ploiesti

 

 

So this is probably going to be short.  Not much happened this week because we either got bunged (canceled on) or I was sleeping getting over whatever I have.  So yeah.  But we were able to help volunteer at the Primary Halloween party and I got some cute pictures of the kids.  So that was a lot of fun.  Other than that I am a little stressed.  But things will be getting better this week and I can't wait.  I hope that all is going well with everyone at home and thank you to Dick, Taylor Haycock (and yes I do know all the people you asked about ha) and especially to Rach for the emails, as well as to the rest of my family.  I am glad aunt Debi and Uncle Larry are OK in New York where they are serving their mission.  I love you all so much.  Sorry again that this is so short, but hopefully the pics will make up for it. 

Love you all

Sora Krissy Hall

Sora Bulloch and Sora Hall at Sapte Scari

This was suppose to be a pic of a mouse under their kitchen lol

District picture

So this week was transfers!  Not my most favorite transfers just because so many people I love left, however it is a chance for new beginnings and new learning experiences.  I loved being able to spend my P-day in Bucuresti with the leaving missionaries.  It was so much fun to be able to say good bye in person.  It was probably one of my favorite pdays :)  Other than that transfers went well.  It was really hard to leave my little one, but I know she will have a ton of fun up in Chisinau.  So now I am back in Ploiesti with my new companion Sora Schuld.  It will be very different from last transfer, but that just means there will be more surprises and fun times.  We are going to work hard and really have fun this transfer. 

I can't believe that I only have 3 more transfers after this one.  Time has gone by so fast and I have learned so much (a lot of times through the hard way).  I can't wait to see what will happen next and what God has in store for me.  I feel like I never could have prepared for anything like this.  I just needed to experience it.  I still have those moments where I  wonder why I had to come, but then I think of all of the amazing people I have met and the things I have learned that would have taken me years to learn.  I am so grateful for that.  Even on the hardest days I know I am getting stronger (hmm that reminds me of a song ha).  But life is good.  I am moving forward and working hard.  I feel like I just need to be patient with myself and not expect immediate changes overnight.  That is the hardest part ha. 

Thank you so much for all of your love and support, oh and thank you to Elder Bruner/Richard (Dick) for the email ha.  I really dont think I would be able to do this without the love and support of everyone.  Take care.

Love
Sora Krissy Hall

PS- it is so cold today.  so the winter clothes are coming back out sadly.  I feel like there wasn't really even a fall, but oh well

SORRY NO PICTURES WITH THIS WEEKS LETTER....AGAIN...  :(

I am so stinking sad this week!  Most of my favorite missionaries are leaving (ie Elder Bruner, Miner, Tefft, etc).  But it is OK, because we will be able to party when I see them again ha.  Other than that, I would like to announce that Ploiesti is now my longest area!  I will be serving here for another transfer and I will be with the lovely Sora Schuld.  She was also from my MTC group, which means I will have served with everyone for some period of time in the mission field from my MTC group..  Kind of weird, but cool at the same time.  I love the members here.  They are so much fun and always help us to have some great stories.  I can't believe I am already going into my 9th transfer and that I will be hitting my year in the country soon.  It is crazy how time flies.  I feel like I just got into the country and yet so much has happened.  I miss so many of the people that are home (or will miss the people that will be going home this week ha), but I know I will be joining them soon.  It is super crazy.  Yes, I am using the word "crazy" a lot today. ha ha!  I feel so blessed to be here and to have the little blessings in my life.  I have also learned so much about myself and habits I have that I never even realized.  I got a letter from Elder Hoffman recently and he said that a mission is like a mirror.  I totally agree.  It helps you see yourself in a totally different way.  I love it.  I am not dreading going home, but the longer I am out here the more I realize how amazing this experience is and how I prefer some things about this life more so than real life.  I feel like that is how most people are.  But no matter when it ends, I am grateful for the time I have had and will have.  The Lord really knew this is what I needed to do.  I am grateful I listened.  Well I need to go.  But I love you all and I especially want to thank the Elders that are going home for all they have done for me.  I wouldn't be where I am now without them and their example.
Love you all,
Sora Krissy Hall

Happy Birthday to Matt, Rachel, Uncle Larry, Tyson and Cassie this week and anyone else I may have missed!  I hope you have a wonderful day. 

Also, Jen congrats!!!  I am so excited for you it is crazy!  I love you! 

So Brasov was amazing!!!  It was also the scariest day of my life ha.  We went to Adventure Park which is a park where they have climbing and zip-line courses.  If you didn't know, I am scared of heights.  My companion is most definitely not. . . so we did only the hardest courses (which also meant the highest).  But everyone was super supportive, especially Elder Bruner.  It was super sweet of them and I was able to get to the end of all of the courses (even the black one).  My arms gave out on the final course of the black (we had to pull ourselves up a zip-line backwards).  I was about 10 feet from finishing it, but I just couldn't.  It was super frustrating at the time, but now I realize that I got so much farther than I thought.  I was so scared the whole time and yet I was able to overcome and push through.  I may not have finished that last task, but I got to the end of the course and I finished many others.  That is enough.  I did better than I thought I could and it may not have been at the same level as everyone else, but I did my best and that is all we are ever asked to do.  The mission and life is the same thing.  We often compare ourselves to those around us, if we don't measure up to them, we feel as though we have failed.  We forget what we have accomplished to get to that point and the other obstacles that we have already overcome.  God doesn't ask us to do better than everyone else.  He asks us to be the best we can be individually.  As we change our perspective to seeing ourselves as God sees us instead of how man sees us, then we find that we are so much happier.  I have found that as tried to do this in the mission I have enjoyed the experience so much more.  I find that I live up to other people's expectations of me (ie- the mission president, family, other missionaries, etc) as I focus more on what God wants me to do, than on what they all expect.  It is something I am still working on everyday, but I am trying everyday to make sure that this is where my focus is. 

Other than that, things went great this week!  Interviews were great and I was able to be a lot more open than I have ever been.  It was so wonderful.  That day we went looking for a man that we contacted the week earlier (Victor).  He gave us his address and so we looked it up on the map and then went to go find him.  Well, the street he gave us was not the same as the one we went to.  In fact, the one we went to was in an industrial zone, so after taking an hour and a half to get there and finding only semi-trucks and factories we called him.  He said it was a small street off of Republicii (the street we actually live on).  So we turned back and then started walking.  We got another call and I asked how far it was from Kaufland (supermarket- kind of like costco or walmart).  He said about 3 km.  That didn't seem too far ha.  So we started out.  Just as we reached the sign that said we were leaving Ploiesti we found the street.  It was the last street on the border!  Oh and 3 km is a little far ha, especially when we were walking.  But we had an amazing lesson and he committed to read the Book of Mormon and to meet with us again (he was older and his mother was there so that is why we didn't turn him over to the elders, otherwise we would have).  Then it was 3:30 and our interviews were at 4:30.  So we started walking VERY quickly and eventually found a taxi that rushed us to our interviews with President Hill, Sora Hill, and the Assistants to the President, getting there just in time.  We were definitely blessed.  We should have been late, but we hit every green light and our driving really knew how to maneuver the traffic ha.  It was a crazy day, but it all worked out so well.  We spent about 5 and a half hours looking for that man and then we had a lesson, but the spirit at the lesson was so amazing that it was so worth it.  I really have felt so blessed this last week.  Thank you for all of your love and support, I really appreciate it.  I love you all.  I know that as we have faith and follow the example of Jesus Christ, we will be blessed.  So work hard and don't compare yourself to man, work to be the best you can be and live up to God's potential for you.  That is how we truly find happiness.  If you mess up, we are so blessed to have the Atonement, so not worries.  We can change and we can become better.  It just takes persistent work.  So don't give up and know that I love and support you as well as God and Christ.

Have a great week!

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

PS- funny story/ top 5 moment of the mission so far- So on Saturday we had a baptism for a girl that has been waiting 2 years to get baptized (she turned 18 on Fri) then we had a branch activity.  Anyways, between the two the Zone Leaders said they had something for me from Elder Bruner.  So they went to their car and pulled out an opened Pillsbury German Chocolate Cake mix.  I was super confused and then they told me to pull out the bag, so I did, the mix was filled with little maggots, like the ones that turn into those annoying moths that show up in your kitchen ha.  I jumped back (which frankly surprised even me ha).  They were the same species that I would ALWAYS find in my grandparents chewy chips ahoy cookies whenever I went over to their house and seeing them just brought back those memories ha.  Anyways, we had already received permission to call Elder Bruner that day for some other things, so I called him and asked why the heck he would send me little maggots.  He said he saw them and thought of me ha.  He then brought up how Sora Bennett missed her job so she started growing pea plants (she is a landscaper) and how he missed his major so he just learns a ton of history type stuff, so he thought I would miss my major and so he sent me an "ecosystem."  It was the funniest conversation I have had in a long time.  I totally see his point of it and frankly it makes complete sense ha.  He just didn't know the background behind those type of organisms ha.  It was super cute that he tried to get me an ecosystem though.  It made my day and is totally one of my top 5 mission moments ha. 

This is a letter from Elder Nemrow's  that she posted on the Missionary Mom site. I am including it with Krissy's blog because it talks about her and the area she is serving in right now. She also talks about the Romanian mission and other people they met on their trip.

Ploiesti Church Building

The Young Women (12-18 year olds) in Ploiest. Elder Nemrow's sister is in the center

Inside of Ploiest Branch building

Going home gift from Ploiest Branch to Elder Nemrow, they all signed the flag.

The branch pres. & family (sitting closest to the camera) took us to dinner.  Everyone was so kind!

Hi everyone -
We just returned from a great trip to Romania to pick up our son and do
some family history work!  What a great experience to see the country and
get a feel for our son's mission.  We visited many cemeteries and archives
and are happy to have found some additional family members that we didn't
know about.  My husband has been working on his genealogy for 20 years with
little success (since they were Jews fleeing persecution in the late
1800's) but since our son received his mission call we have seen so many
blessings and have had many successes in locating these ancestors.

We attended the branch in Ploiesti on Fast Sunday and were able to share
our testimonies while our son translated.  What a strong, wonderful branch
there!  It is one of the largest branches with approx. 50-60 active
members.  Plans are on track for Romania to have its first stake next year
and Ploiesti will be one of the strongest wards.  We met with Elders Cox,
Groberg, Rasmussen, Hickenlooper & Doloscan and Sora Hickman & Hall.  In
Iasi we saw Elders Bennett, Benson & Biggs as well as Sora Bennett & Atkins
teaching an English class.  If any of these are your missionaries you can
email me privately and I can send you photos & video.  In Brasov we were
having trouble locating our hotel (around 8:30pm) when all of the sudden we
saw 2 elders walking down the street (Elder Brunner & a new elder).  What
an amazing coincidence since it is a large city - and even more amazing
that they knew where the hotel was.

The Marcov's are a senior couple from Utah who have Romanian heritage.
They don't speak the language but he is a patriarch and has been given
permission to give patriarchal blessings to members who know English well.
They have been traveling all over the country giving many blessings.  We
sensed the excitement about this and also heard sadness expressed by some
of the elderly members who don't know much English and wonder if they will
live long enough to receive a blessing.  Perhaps when the new stake is
formed they will have a Romanian patriarch.  We met several seasoned
members who joined 20 yrs. ago.

We rented a car and driving in the cities was very fast and hectic.  Out on
the highway the lanes are narrow - some roads closer to Bucharest have 4
lanes but only 3 cars can really fit, plus you're sharing the road with
horses/carts/wagons.  My blood pressure was high as cars race to pass each
other and the wagons.  Our son ordered some garments before he left the
mission and I was surprised to see that the price was only .75 cents per
piece.  He really liked the mesh fabric.  The church really makes an effort
to make it inexpensive for the members - so I would definitely order some
through the mission office if I was a missionary.

Pres. & Sis. Hill are so gracious as we visited them in their home! Our son
told us that when they travel around doing interviews - Sis. Hill will
interview one companion while Pres. Hill interviews the other.  She will
not only check up on their health, etc. but also asks them if they have any
doctrinal questions.  Our son looked forward to their visits and enjoyed
asking her many questions.  If she didn't know the answer she would look it
up right there on her Ipad or get back to him.  Many wives of mission
presidents don't go to this extra effort.  She is a friendly, spunky lady
and very frank.  These missionaries are fortunate to have a couple like the
Hills giving them support, guidance and encouragement.

Paige Nemrow
Laie, HI
RM Andrew Nemrow Romania Bucharest - 9/12
RM Joseph Nemrow Guatemala Quetzaltenango - 8/10

Thank you Paige for sharing!

 

Happy Birthday Krissy!

 

This week I am one year older.  I'm not sure about being wiser ha, but that's ok.  This week was a tough week.  We didn't have a lot of success despite our many calls and contacts, but this week looks a lot better.  We have a lot of things set up and a lot of things we can do.  So that is awesome.  I feel like the trial I have been facing this transfer has been how to deal with failure.  It is kind of rough to deal with, but if I have to learn about it I would rather learn it now than later.  I feel like when we fail we are even more grateful for the small little blessings in our lives.  I have a list in the front of my planner that has things that make me happy here.  I add to it every transfer (I have had it for about 2 or 3 now).  It also has a great quote from President Uchtdorf about not giving up when you feel overwhelmed.  When I feel discouraged I look at that.  It gives me the strength to get through the next little bit of the day and also helps me see the blessings around me, whether it is a kitten that I get to hold or just something simple like Paprika flavored Lays ha.  They are blessings in my life.  Of course my family and friends are the biggest blessings in my life and I am grateful everyday for their love and support.  So this week, if you want to celebrate my birthday with me write down the things that you are grateful for and send them to me.  Ha.  I would be happy with just a simple email.  I love you all!  Pictures to come next week!

Love
Sora Krissy Hall

More of our hike and me in a pic with a ton of elders (I'm not really sure how that happened)

Sora Bulloch and I got free coke on the street- best day ever ha

love you,
 Krissy

That looks sturdy...

A bunch of Elders and Krissy..how did that happen?

Free Coke for Sora Bulloch and Me!

September 24, 2012

Me on hike to Brasov -Sapte Scari (Seven Stairs)

Old Constanta District back together (almost all of us) in Buc-

 Sora Savage, Me, Elder Cunningham & Elder Miner

Climbing Sapte Scari (Seven Stairs)

What a week it has been a lot of English contacting and not a ton of lessons (despite our efforts).  But we did have District Conference which was an amazing experience.  It was Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday we had the Relief Society meeting which went great.  I saw members from other Branches I have served in and got to catch up with them (ie- Members from Panduri and Constanta as well as Ploiesti).  It was so amazing to me that so many remembered me and welcomed me with opened arms.  One of the Recent Converts that I taught in Panduri went through the temple for the first time in September (Mirela).  It was so wonderful to talk to her about it and talk to others about their experiences they had when they went (Members here have the opportunity to go to the temple about 2 times a year, in Sept and May, and they go with all the members that are in Romania at the same time).  They all said the Kiev Temple was beautiful and that they all felt united being together there.  We also had a joined meeting with everyone where we heard from the Temple President of the Kiev Temple and his wife (the Galbraith's).  They were hilarious but taught such great things.  We stayed with Sora Stark and Savage for the night where I gave my companion a haircut so she looks even cuter (didn't know that was possible, but it is :) ).  Then on Sunday I got to talk to even more members and missionaries I haven't seen in a while.  I found out that a man I contacted on Dec 1 of last year (Flavius) got baptized and is now a very happy member.  I didn't have the chance to teach him but I remember when he was being taught and that he was amazing.  He was the one that talked to me in English and then I forgot to get his information but he actually called back later.  I was so happy to find out that despite his family not being too happy that he is a member that he realized it was his time and that he went ahead with it.  He has a great amount of faith that is just inspiring.  Plus he remembered that I was the one that contacted him.  How cool is that?  So things went so great this last week.  I love Sora Bulloch!  She is so much fun and we just have a ton of fun together.  It doesn't seem like work at all, just doing what we love.  Today we went to Brasov where we met up with Elder Bruner and the other missionaries there to hike Sapte Scari (seven stairs).  It was so amazing! We climbed a ladder right next to a beautiful waterfall.  It was so nice just to be out in nature again.  Brasov really is beautiful.  Plus I found out that I will be going back to Brasov for exchanges with Sora Lund on the 3rd-the 5th.  So yeah I will be there for my birthday!  How cool is that!  I have had so much fun these last few days and I just feel so pumped about the work here.  We have so many members that are so strong and it was so amazing to see them come together and be strengthened even more.  Plus it is always great to be with other missionaries and to enjoy the beauty that God has created for us to enjoy.  I am so grateful right now and so excited for what this next week holds!  Oh and I do want to wish the amazing Elder Bruner a very happy birthday this week on the 27th.  He is so great, sa stii.  Anyways I love you all.  Take care and take a minute to enjoy the beauty around you this week. 

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

I know I have posted this picture before but Krissy looks soo adorable in this picture I had to post it again. (Krissy's mom)

I just want to start off by saying thank you to the members in my ward for all the birthday wishes!  They really meant a lot to me and have just made me more excited to have my birthday here in just a couple of weeks :)  This last week has been crazy!  I was in Bucuresti for 3 days on exchange with Sora Stark and Sam while my companion left with her family.  I also got to Nas (house/take care of) the 2 new sisters that came in on Tuesday (Sora Lund and Sora Heim).  It was so much fun.  It was bittersweet to know that as this new group of missionaries came in, some of my friends that I have made have left.  Transfers just won't be the same without Elder James and Elder Mikolyski, as well as all of the others.  It was great to see them off though.  Then I headed back to Ploiesti (after missing my train by seconds and then having to change the tickets ha) and went to the YSA center.  The sisters in Ploiesti work with the YSA center so we go to their activities, which I love.  I feel like it creates such a great relationship between us and the members, so whenever we need members to come on visits, they just volunteer.  The next day I realized how little I knew about Ploiesti and that the lesson I set up with a less active was at the same time as the Relief Society activity.  So I canceled the lesson so she could go to the activity and yeah.  It was kind of a fail ha.  But Sora Bulloch and I will just love getting to know Ploiesti together.  Oh and a very happy birthday to her.  It was her birthday on Saturday which was fun.  We ended the night with Jerry's pizza and a yummy apple cookie thing the elders made ha.  So even though the week was a little crazy we had a good time and just smiled the whole way. 

This week will be another crazy one as we are currently in Bucharest right now because Sora Bulloch had a doctors appointment.  We are heading back to Ploiesti right after internet and spending the rest of the time with our awesome elders (Elders Rasmussen, Rodenberg, Doloscan, and Barclay) and maybe the zone leaders ha.  Then we have district conference this weekend, so we will be heading back to Bucharest either Saturday or Sunday for that.  This is going to be a crazy transfer, but it will also be a ton of fun.  Oh and this week marks both Sora Bulloch's and my year mark as missionaries.  Kind of crazy how fast it goes.  Well I need to go.  But I love you all!  Take care and have fun this week :)

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall


PS- I am super excited that Aunt Debi and Uncle Larry head to the MTC so soon!  I am so excited to hear about their experiences that they will have as they serve the Lord.

Sora Bulloch is coming back to me!!!  I am so excited that my little fairy is coming back to be with me for our year mark.  She was my comp in the MTC.  We will be partying it up in Ploiesti this next transfer.  So I am super excited.  This last week we did a lot of member visits since Sora Hickman is going home.  It was great.  I love how you can get people to come to church by saying you are leaving ha.  I feel like if you can just get them to come once that they will feel the spirit and will want to come again.  Its great.  Church was packed on Sunday.  Now I am in Bucharest and I will be in a threesome with Sora Stark and Sora Sam from 4pm tonight until Wednesday.  I am so excited :)  Life is just going well and I am so excited for this next transfer.  We are also getting 2 boboci (greenies) in Ploiesti so that will be interesting.  I hope they are cool haha.  It will be great.  We have 11 missionaries coming in this transfer which is just crazy!  Next transfer will be about the same.  It is weird when you get to the point in the mission where you are one of the older ones and all of the friends you have made in the last year plus are gone.  I feel that is what next transfer will be like for me.  But hey it just means I get to meet more people and grow even more.  Well I need to go.  But I love you all.  Thank you so much for your emails of support.  I am trying to get letters out to people, so if you could email me updated addresses I would really appreciate it!  Love you all

Love
Sora Krissy Hall

September 3, 2012

Traditional Romania woman's dress

Sora Hall's district

Sora Hall and Sora Hickman with Sora Chirila (center)

Sora Stark's birthday cupcake

Alicia Draper!!  Thank you so much for you lovely letter!  It was so colorful and the stickers were great.  It was just a reminder as to why I love you so dang much!  So thank you.  Also Aunt Debi, I am so excited for you.  Time has gone so fast, I cant believe that you are getting ready to go to the MTC.  Kind of crazy!

So this week.  We walked ALL over the city.  It was exhausting.  Next transfer I am investing in a bus pass and I will save time and energy.  We did get fed a lot this week which was unusual but awesome!!  We also got to play dress up in authentic Romanian clothes that one of the members has (Sora Chirila).  She has clothes from several different areas in Romania and loves having the missionaries try them on and take pictures ha.  It was great!  We mainly met with members this week since Sora Hickman goes home in a week and wanted to say goodbye to people.  But I love hearing all of their testimonies so it is definitely a growing experience for me.  I also got to play with a lot of puppies this week which always makes me happy.  :)

One of the elders' family came to church on Sunday (they came to pick him up so he would be home for school, but they are also here to do genealogy).  That was a ton of fun having English speakers here, ha ha.  I had to translate it Relief Society, which was kind of scary, but I got most of it ha.  So I hope they got something out of it. 

I can't believe the transfer is almost over.  Well, actually I can ha.  But I cant believe I will be going into my 8th!  FYI- for sisters we usually have 12 transfers.  Gosh time is going fast.  I have decided to re-evaluate my work here so that I can work my hardest these last few months.  I definitely have a lot to improve on so im glad that I have a little more of a time goal.  I find it hard to set goals just for a transfer sometimes, because I feel like they change too frequently before I can actually get good at something.  Plus in a mission it can be hard to see growth, especially if you have older companions.  So I am very excited about this goal.  It has also been a testimony to me of the amazing power that the Atonement has in our lives, as to help us change.  We become better as we change an progress.  The Atonement doesn't take back past mistakes, but it allows us to learn and grow from them.  I love it.

So that was my week.  Missionary work and walking.  I also added a pic of me feeding Sora Stark for her birthday.  :)  I love her.  Anyways I love you all.  Have a  great week!

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

PS- And a very Happy Birthday to Elder Peterson (the Russian Elder) tomorrow!  I hope that he has a great day!

August 27, 2012

This week was crazy.  But first I want to thank Sue Richart and Tatiana for their letters!  I loved reading them and catching up on everyone's lives.  I counted it out and in Tatiana's letter I found out that 13 of my friends are engaged or married whew it was quite a list but congrats to all of them as well.  Life does continue at home when you are on a mission.  So this week we went to Buc on Wed so that I could go to the doctors and get a CT scan.  Thankfully everything is normal so that's great.  Then we celebrated Elder James Birthday at Ruby Tuesdays with everyone.  It was so much fun!!  The next day we had zone conference which went well.  It was very hot and long, but I learned a lot.  Then we headed home and went to sports night.  The last couple of days have been a little slow but it was fun. 

That brings me to a thought I had this week.  We were walking around and we passed this car with CA plates and I did a double-take and the guy was like hey.  So we went over and talked to him and his family.  Turns out he was originally from Ploiesti and he met his wife on a Red Hot Chili Peppers chat room so he moved to the US and San Diego area.  Now they are back and trying to open a dog shelter.  We only talked for about 10 min but I felt like I learned so much.  I thought about how awesome that would be to understand everything someone told me and how different the mission would be if I was speaking English.  Then was we walked away an older woman with a little baby turned the baby's hand over and said da si mie (what they say to beg).  If I was in any other mission i would not have that experience which was kind of sad, but so Romania.  I am very happy to be serving here even with all the craziness.  I love it.

Well I need to go.  But I love you all and miss you all.

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

August 20, 2012

ALMOST CAUGHT UP......

Elder Bruner

Sora Hall

Aug 20, 2012








Hello my lovely people.  I still don't have a ton of time this week.  But I just had the most epic pday ever.  We went to Busten to see the giant cross on the mountain and we went off-roading to see it.  It was so much fun!!  Then we realized how close we were to Peles Castle so we went there as well.  It was great.  We spent a ton ha.  But it was so worth it.  Plus I got to talk to the adorable Elder Bruner for most of the day.  It was great.  Now we are trying to get everything back in order and ready for the rest of the day.  11month mark this week.  Which is kind of crazy.  We have Zone Conference where we will also be celebrating Elder James' birthday so that will be fun.  Plus we have some awesome investigators and we are helping out at a wheelchair basketball competition this week for service! Crazy times but so awesome!  I love you all.

Sora Krissy Hall

August 13, 2012

SORRY TO ALL THE FOLLOWERS OF KRISSY'S BLOG. aS YOU CAN TELL I AM BEHIND.
August 13, 2012

Another week has come and gone.  I am currently in Buc for the day.  It is the lovely Sora Stark's birthday so we surprised her by coming down last night and spending the P-day with her.  I love her a ton and I hope this year is as fun and crazy as the last :)  Other than that, things are moving.  We are having lessons which is great.  So cant really ask for a ton more.  Just keep moving forward.  So I hope that all of you have a great week.  I love and miss you all.

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

Sora Hall preaching the gospel the littlest of them in Romanian and

 Elder ?

Krissy laughing at something???

Another week has come and gone.  I am currently in Bucharest for the day.  It is the lovely Sora Stark's birthday so we surprised her by coming down last night and spending the P-day with her.  I love her a ton and I hope this year is as fun and crazy as the last :)  Other than that, things are moving.  We are having lessons which is great.  So can't really ask for a ton more.  Just keep moving forward.  So I hope that all of you have a great week.  I love and miss you all.

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

Elder McCombs, Elder Knapp, Elder Cunningham, Elder Miner, Me, Sora Savage (going in a circle starting with the elder right next to Sora Savage.

Fred, the church spider caught by Elder Miner. :)

Hello from Ploiesti (ploy- esht).  It is definitely hot here, but not nearly as humid as Constanta.  My skin can feel the difference :P  First thanks for John for your letter that I got at transfers.  You are awesome.  Glad to hear that things are going well.  Life here is normal, ha well for a missionary.  We had transfers on Wed and I got to spend some time with Sora Stark.  It was so nice.  Then I got on a train and headed to my new city.  It is nice to be teaching lessons again ha.  We even had a couple of investigators at church.  That was awesome.  Hopefully things will be able to get a little less crazy in the weeks to follow.  Well there isn't really a ton to say this week.  Enjoy the pics of my district last transfer on the black sea.  Love them all and miss them like crazy.  But now I just get to meet more people.  Well I love you all at home.  Let me know how things are going. 

Love,
Sora Krissy Hall

Sora Savage and Sora Hall on P-day

Opps! Missed that bus but caught the pavement.

Krissy and Sister Boboc -She is a less active member that Krissy loves!

Krissy and Ele Na-  an English student

Romanian kitty -Gremlin

What a crazy week.  First I want to say congrats to Alisse Frandsen on her mission call to Chile!  That is so awesome!   Next, so we found out this week that we need to find a new apartment because our landlords want to sell our apartment.  So we are apartment hunting which is kind of a bummer.  But oh well.  Also on Wed. Elder Miner sprained his ankle running for a bus so he was out for a day, ha.  But he handled it great.  Then on Thursday  While I was running for a bus with my companion I lost my balance and ate pavement- with my face. ha.  I caught myself wrong and smacked my head into the pavement.  It was kind of awesome, not going to lie.  Thankfully, we were close to the church and the elders were actually on the bus we missed and saw me on the ground (not the actual fall) so they came running back.  I ended up with a mild concussion which was awesome because the whole time I was checking myself for symptoms.  The main one was impaired vision but that went away after about an hour.  I now have a nice abrasion and bruise on my head- and I still have a little bit of a headache.  Each day it gets better so that's good.  Plus my bangs cover it up perfectly so that's great.  I was out of commission for a day.  On Friday, it was Sora Savage's birthday so we ate cake and had an awesome lesson with some members and then a sports night.  We also found out about transfers and that I will be going to Ploiesti and serving with Sora Hickman again.  That will be interesting.  On Saturday,  Sora Savage had a 24 hour flu or food poisoning and so we were inside all day.  We missed most all of church on Sunday because she still wasn't feeling well.  We did catch the end of the meetings so that I could say goodbye to people.  Now today is Pday- whew what a week.  I will send pictures of my head soon.  If not this week, next week.  Life is crazy.  But it just creates great stories.  Anyways I love you all.  I hope your lives are slightly less crazy than mine at the moment.  ha  Take care and don't run for buses ;)

Love,

Sora Krissy Hall