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