Buna Ziua
Happy Easter! I know you all celebrated Easter last week, but we got to celebrate yesterday. I would just like to say Easter is the biggest holiday in Romania, even bigger than Christmas.It was so much fun. A little harder for us to do missionary work because schools are closed, shops are closed and people have gone to the country to be with family. I will tell you alittle bit about what we got to experience.
On Saturday night we met up with the Elders and we just played games until we left at about 11:30 to a beautiful Orthodox church next to a lake, it is made out of black wood and is right on the lake. The tradition is to bring candles and to light them at midnight to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The original flame starts at the priest and then it slowly makes it way through the crowd. You also want to keep the flame going until you get home and it is a saying that if you do, you will have luck for the next year. (Yes, Sora Cottam and I both got our candles home without the flame going out)
On Sunday we just had 2 hours of church. There weren't that many people there, but it was focused all on the Atonement of Christ. Also, one of our investigators came. She's awesome. Her name is Iulia. She is a student in her last year at university. She is studying English and French so needless to say there is no language barrier. What a tender mercy that she was able to come. After church we headed to a part-member family for lunch. They were way too nice and had so much good food for us. They color their eggs solid red and on sunday they break them while saying "Jesus has risen" "Yes, he's risen" It is just so fun to see how the country has focused on the holiday and made it the highlight of the year.
This is how it should be for every single one of us. We don't need a huge holiday once a year to remember the Atonement and Ressurrection of Jesus Christ. We get to use the gift of the Atonement every single day in our lives. We are all promised to live forever, but through the mercy and grace of God and through the infinite power of the Atonement we can live forever in the presence of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and with our eternal families. We need to continue in faith, repent, remember the covenants we made at baptism, use the gift of the holy ghost that is conferred by those who have authority and then endure to the end. I am grateful for this week and the extra amount of time I had to concentrate on the love and atonement of Christ. I know that Jesus Christ lives.
I love you and have a fabulous week.
Sora Remsberg
