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