31 December 2012

La Multi ani!

Happy New Year!
Can you believe that 2012 has come and gone? How quickly time continues to move forward, whether we want it to or not. Christmas came and went. Many people left for the holidays and have been busy with cleaning and preparing food and guests, but we were blessed to be able to have a busy week and to see the Lord's hand in our work.
A couple weeks ago, we met Eugen. We started meeting with him and things are going really well. He is from Moldova, but has moved here for school and to work. He graduated in theology and history and needless to say is a very educated person. We have had lessons on the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. He is open and progressing. He has gone back home for the week, but we decided that we would send him a "15 chapter Power read" of the Book of Mormon.
We first heard of this in the MTC. One of the speakers told us that if we could pick any 15 chapters from the Book of Mormon that would help an investigator to come unto Christ, what would they be? Obviously the 15 chapters would be tailored to the needs of the individual, so that's exactly what we did. We are excited for him to read the chapters and to meet with him after the new year.
As we were thinking of the chapters to have him read, I realized how many of the chapters and the entire Book of Mormon talk and testify of Christ You can't help but feel God's love and hear his guidance as you read and study it's pages. It sounds cheesy, but I often want to just hug my scriptures because of how much I love them and how much joy they bring into my life. How blessed we are to have another testament of Jesus Christ.
May this new year bring you "numai bine" only good and "multe sanatate" much health.
Va iubesc,
Sora Remsberg

Craciun Fericit

Tis the season to be jolly

1. Branch Christmas party

2. Amy with Sora Z, Simona, Mariana, and Elena

3. Merry Christmas from the Sibiu sisters :]

24 December 2012

Craciun Fericit! 
Merry Christmas!

Congrats to Janae and Isaiah. You look so happy. I'm glad the day was perfect for the both of you. Thank you to everyone who sent pictures of the big day. I loved them.

I can't believe that Christmas is already here. How time just seems to be going so fast. This week was a busy one and such a good one. This week we were able to meet with a few investigators and with a few less-active families. They just make the days so much better. What better way to spend the holiday season than by telling everyone about Christ!

We were also able to celebrate Christmas with the branch. We had about 9 nonmembers come. The night was filled with ornament making, dinner, caroling, and reading of the Christmas story from Luke. How I love this time of year. It seems now more than ever I have the opportunity to focus on it's true meaning, Christ.

Yesterday, Sora Zimmerman taught the relief society lesson on angels. We read the following scriptures fround in Alma 29:1-3

1. O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemtion, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.
3. But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.

I just loved this. It made me think about the role of angles. They bring tidings of glad joy. They pronounce repentace and to invite others to come unto the savior. She then asked us, "How can we become like angles?" What a blessing that we have the opportunity to be angles in the lives of others by bringing joy into their lives, being examples and inviting them to draw closer to the savior. I have been blessed to have many angels in my life. My parents, my sisters, my friends. During this season may we try to be that angel for someone else, may we do everything with the sole purpose of making life better for other people!.

Va iubesc,
Sora Remsberg

17 December 2012

Ceau! 

The weeks are continuing to go by so fast. This week we were able to travel to Arad to celebrate Christmas with our zone and with the Arad zone. It was fun to be with all the other missionaries and I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner. I love the holiday season because we really get to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, Christ. We have the opportunity to invite Christ into the lives of others everyday, but it just seems that during this time of the year everyone opens up just a little bit more. We do truly bring glad tiding of great joy.

When we got back, we had lots of work to do and we saw so many little miracles. Sora Z and I had made a goal to have 2 investigators at church this week. We knew it could be done, we just needed to work hard. Sunday came and Natalia, the sister of a member and an investigator came to church and a new investigator, Sanda, who is the girlfriend of a member came! What a blessing. Church was really good as we had President and Sora Heninger, the second counselor in the mission presidency come to speak to us.

We have also been working with a less-active member quite a bit and he is progressing and coming back. The best part is to see his desire to share the gospel with those he loves. What better way to strengthen your own testimony than by inviting others to strengthen theirs?!

When Elder Kerr of the 70 was here he advised us to think of power lines, our arsenal, to give to those we come in contact with everyday. We really have about one sentence or one minute to grab people's attention and invite them to learn more about the gospel. This is even more true as it gets colder and colder outside. We have made it a goal to think of at least one new "arsenal" everyday. We have come up with a few:

-Repentance is the ability to change who you want to become
-The Gospel of Jesus Christ inspires action and change continually
-The Bible teaches us what we need to do to return to God, the Book of Mormon teaches us how we can return to Him. Together they are complete
-The Atonement is the foundation of our lives and our faith and qualifies us for all the blessings of heaven.
-The feelings of the heart can bring great joy into our lives

If you had one line to share with others about any aspect of the gospel, what would it be? I would love to hear what you would say. The gospel is so personal and tailored to every individual life. It is truly a blessing that we all have been given in our lives.

Va iubesc,
Sora Remsberg

10 December 2012

Ceau Familia Mea!
      This week has been full of lots of changes. Sora Sam and I were able to visit a couple members and investigators before she headed to Chisinau. It is always hard when companions and people leave. We left Tuesday for Buc and arrived late at night. On Wednesday Sora Zimmerman and I found eachother and we headed back to Sibiu that afternoon. As the train continued to get closer to Sibiu, there started to appear snow on the ground. When we got back to Sibiu late at night there were a couple inches of snow on the ground. It hasn't quite stopped snowing since we got back. It has been so much colder and made missionary work a little bit more interesting when it comes to being outside and talking to people. Sora Zimmerman and I had a wonderful planning session and we have set many goals and talked about many things we can do to help the Lord's work more forward and to strengthen the branch in Sibiu.
      We were able to have a presidency meeting this week with Brooklyn, the relief society president. We were discussing the things we could do to help the sisters be strengthened and how to best move forward. As we were all discussing, Sora Zimmerman suggested that we fast, seeing as the next day was Sunday, and ask for the Lord's help. It was the best thing that we could have done. How blessed we are not only to have the power of prayer, but we are blessed with the opportunity to fast and to pray in order to draw closer to the spirit and ask for further help from the Lord. How often do we think that we can do things on our own or that we are capable of thinking of all the ideas on our own, but we must remember that all good things come from God. The Holy Ghost helps us to recognize and to do what the Lord would want. As we continue to draw nearer to the Lord, our thoughts will become his thoughts and our words will become his words and we will realize that we cannot do anything without His help and the power of His son's atonement.
Va Iubesc,
Sora Remsberg

3 December 2012

Ceau!
I cannot believe that December is already here. Sibiu has gotten a lot colder and has really started to prepare for the Holiday season. We also found out about transfers. We will be going down to Bucaresti on Tuesday and coming back Wednesday or Thursday. Sora Sam will be going to Chisinau and I will be staying here in Sibiu with Sora Zimmerman! We couldn't believe it when the transfer boards came out. I get the opportunity to serve alongside my best friend again. Once in the MTC and a second time in the mission field. She is an amazing missionary and will do wonders for Sibiu. I can't wait.

The country celebrated it's form of independence day on December 1st. It was also Saint Andrew's Day. This is an Orthodox holdiay dedicated to the apostle Andrew who came and taught in Romania after Christ's Atonement. This week I realized how much I have fallen in love with the New Testament. It is a history of the people in the Holy lands. It is a history of the people with whom I work with and love everyday. I find strength and comfort in the words of Christ and the words of his apostles as they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. After Christ was gone, somedays the apostles didn't have the most success and were rejected, but otherdays they had success and helped others to be spiritually healed by the gospel. That is exactly what missionary work is today. I just love the New Testament. I feel so close to the Savior as I read his words. Especially as we near the Christmas holiday may we remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Va Iubesc,
Sora Remsberg