Sigh... I love Sundays!

Seriously, if every day of the week could be Sunday I would love that. I know, I know, work must be done and I'm sure in a world full of Sundays I would get restless and need to put myself to a task. But this day is such a blessing for me. I got to go to church in Romania for the first time!! It was wonderful, and I actually did better with the language than I thought I would. I'm not sure how today was different. Maybe I know the topic of discussion better, maybe they were speaking mai rar (slower). But my guess is that I prayed for help, and it was mercifully given. It was so fun for me, in Relief Society the ladies are so talkative and fun and as I worked to understand I could even laugh and follow along as they made jokes. Thankfully I had a sister missionary sitting next to me, and when I didn't understand a certain word I could lean over and whisper and she helped a ton. Her name is Sister Olson, she is so great. She's probably getting transferred this week. Sad. I still can't figure out how I know her, but when we met for the first time we both said "Man! How do I know you?" Someday I'll figure it out. If any of you know a Sister Olson serving in Romania please speak up! She's been out for about 6 months now. Here we all are in front of the villa, where the branch meets. It's not the entire building, just the second floor.

From left to right: Abby, Erika, me, Allyson, Sora Olson, Kasey, Christine, and Sora Jones

Anyway, back to church! There were 24 people in sacrament meeting, so take out the six of us, plus the 4 missionaries and you've got about 14. They are strong people though, and happy. I was nervous that I would feel silly to sing out during the hymns, I really didn't know what to expect in that area. I was so happy to discover that they sing the hymns with gusto here in Romania and I was able to sing out all I wanted. I love to speak the words, it's such a beautiful language. So, add music to the mix and I was pretty much in heaven! Church in general was very rewarding and I can't wait for next week. I do get nervous about upholding the idea of the "BYU girls" that this branch has. There hasn't been anyone here from BYU for five months or so, and the missionaries told us just how much everyone has just been waiting and waiting for us to come. It's wonderful to feel their excitement about us, and I am anxious to as a group keep that "spirit that the BYU girls bring" in full force. I hope I can do my part and be a strength. And I have so much fun with some of the members already. There's Aurelia (aka JLo as she sometimes introduces herself) and Florentina, and many others. Long story short, I loved it today. I'm so grateful for Biserica lui Isus Hristos A Sfintilor din Zilele din Urma.