Romania 2 August 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010 by Sora Jay
Hello Everybody,
This week was kind of crazy. I live in the city with the Zone leaders and we had Zone Conference this week so we were helping them to prepare for it since Monday.
When we traveled to Zone Conference the Elders drove us in the car because the office had figured out that it was cheaper to have us drive than to have all of us take the train. So we drove through the streets in Bucharest, which was pretty crazy. I think that probably the only Americans that would be able to drive well in Bucharest are teenage boys because you have to drive crazy in order to get anywhere. We were at the mission office in Bucharest for a few hours because the elders needed the office elders' help with their Zone Conference presentation. So we stayed there and talked to the other elders. I feel kind of stupid for doing that now, we should have just gone out on the streets near the mission office and contacted people, but we didn't. The elders were amazed at all of the things that I have accomplished in my life so far, especially that I had played a bunch of Zelda games. They tried to test my knowledge, and I actually knew better thatn them. Everyone always wants to know about all of my siblings and where they went on their missions, so I wrote it all out on a whiteboard for the people at the office. Anyway, so we were there really late waiting for the elders to drive us the other sisters' apartment to stay there for the night and in the end they told us to take the metro. So we got to the sisters apartment at like 10:30.
We got up at 6:00 the next day so that we could shower and get to the church early because the elders wanted me to play the violin for a special musical number.
I thought Sister Lundberg was going to bring the violin early to the church that we met at in Bucharest but we got there early and just sat around waiting because she didn't get there until it started. So I wasn't able to practice before we started the conference.
So, at every Zone Conference everyone prepares a 10-minute talk about a scripture or subject that President Lundberg gives. I had tried to prepare something ever since I finished my talk last Sunday, but I never could get anything actually prepared. I didn't know why. So when we were sitting waiting for Sister Lundberg I tried to work on it again, and I still couldn't get anything. It didn't really bother me that bad that I didn't have anything prepared because I don't think I would really care about being publicly humiliated like that when it's just in front of a bunch of missionaries. But I felt bad that I wasn't prepared like I should have been.
When President walked around the room shaking people's hands he shook mine and asked me how I was doing, I said "good" and he smiled really big. And, what do you know, when the time for the talks came I was chosen to go up and speak. I had like five minutes while President Lundberg was still talking to make sure that I knew where a couple of scriptures were that had been floating around in my head and then I went up and spoke. The talk was about obedience and sacrifice. I remember that sone of the sciptures that I used were Jacob 1:19 and D&C 4:2 and D&C 97:7, so afterward I felt like I had spoken pretty harshly, but I guess not because nobody said anything about it. Some missionaries told me afterward that they thought it was really good, but I just felt crappy because I hadn't prepared anything beforehand like we are asked to.
Then we had lunch, and I ate really quickly and took the violing and went and played through A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief a couple of times before going back to the conference. One of the sisters accompanied me on the piano, but we didn't have any time to rehearse so we messed up a little. I felt like I was going to throw up when it seemed like I wasn't going to be able to practice at all before performing, but it went okay. And everybody understood that I hadn't been able to play the violin for months since I was a missionary; plus it wasn't my violin that I was playing on (and I didn't have a shoulder rest). But it went okay.
So, usually Zone Conferences are nice and relaxing because you get to be the one in the congregation being taught for once instead of the one teaching the lessons, but it wasn't really like that this time because I helped the Zone leaders to prepare their stuff, and then I spoke, and then I played the musical number. And then I felt crappy because everything I did was unprepared, but that's the way it goes sometimes I guess.
One other thing that happened this week: it tells you in Preach My Gospel to pray to be able to speak with power, and I had never tried it before, so I decided to do it. For a while I have been praying for it and I didn't notice any difference until one day this week when we stopped a man with a little girl on the street and started talking to him. We pretty much gave hime the entire first lesson standing there on the sidewalk because he wanted to hear what we had to say. At the end of our little discussion he said "you have me convinced" and then he asked us what he had to do. I handed him a Book of Mormon and told him to read it and told him to come to church the next day. It was wierd because usually if somebody says something like that they are being sarcastic or making fun of us, but this guy seemed serious. He told us where he lived and we said we would go by there next week. As it turns out he didn't come to church, but we will go over to his house in the next couple of days to see how he's doing.
I have to go now, the library lady is telling me to leave.
Love,
Sora Jay
This week was kind of crazy. I live in the city with the Zone leaders and we had Zone Conference this week so we were helping them to prepare for it since Monday.
When we traveled to Zone Conference the Elders drove us in the car because the office had figured out that it was cheaper to have us drive than to have all of us take the train. So we drove through the streets in Bucharest, which was pretty crazy. I think that probably the only Americans that would be able to drive well in Bucharest are teenage boys because you have to drive crazy in order to get anywhere. We were at the mission office in Bucharest for a few hours because the elders needed the office elders' help with their Zone Conference presentation. So we stayed there and talked to the other elders. I feel kind of stupid for doing that now, we should have just gone out on the streets near the mission office and contacted people, but we didn't. The elders were amazed at all of the things that I have accomplished in my life so far, especially that I had played a bunch of Zelda games. They tried to test my knowledge, and I actually knew better thatn them. Everyone always wants to know about all of my siblings and where they went on their missions, so I wrote it all out on a whiteboard for the people at the office. Anyway, so we were there really late waiting for the elders to drive us the other sisters' apartment to stay there for the night and in the end they told us to take the metro. So we got to the sisters apartment at like 10:30.
We got up at 6:00 the next day so that we could shower and get to the church early because the elders wanted me to play the violin for a special musical number.
I thought Sister Lundberg was going to bring the violin early to the church that we met at in Bucharest but we got there early and just sat around waiting because she didn't get there until it started. So I wasn't able to practice before we started the conference.
So, at every Zone Conference everyone prepares a 10-minute talk about a scripture or subject that President Lundberg gives. I had tried to prepare something ever since I finished my talk last Sunday, but I never could get anything actually prepared. I didn't know why. So when we were sitting waiting for Sister Lundberg I tried to work on it again, and I still couldn't get anything. It didn't really bother me that bad that I didn't have anything prepared because I don't think I would really care about being publicly humiliated like that when it's just in front of a bunch of missionaries. But I felt bad that I wasn't prepared like I should have been.
When President walked around the room shaking people's hands he shook mine and asked me how I was doing, I said "good" and he smiled really big. And, what do you know, when the time for the talks came I was chosen to go up and speak. I had like five minutes while President Lundberg was still talking to make sure that I knew where a couple of scriptures were that had been floating around in my head and then I went up and spoke. The talk was about obedience and sacrifice. I remember that sone of the sciptures that I used were Jacob 1:19 and D&C 4:2 and D&C 97:7, so afterward I felt like I had spoken pretty harshly, but I guess not because nobody said anything about it. Some missionaries told me afterward that they thought it was really good, but I just felt crappy because I hadn't prepared anything beforehand like we are asked to.
Then we had lunch, and I ate really quickly and took the violing and went and played through A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief a couple of times before going back to the conference. One of the sisters accompanied me on the piano, but we didn't have any time to rehearse so we messed up a little. I felt like I was going to throw up when it seemed like I wasn't going to be able to practice at all before performing, but it went okay. And everybody understood that I hadn't been able to play the violin for months since I was a missionary; plus it wasn't my violin that I was playing on (and I didn't have a shoulder rest). But it went okay.
So, usually Zone Conferences are nice and relaxing because you get to be the one in the congregation being taught for once instead of the one teaching the lessons, but it wasn't really like that this time because I helped the Zone leaders to prepare their stuff, and then I spoke, and then I played the musical number. And then I felt crappy because everything I did was unprepared, but that's the way it goes sometimes I guess.
One other thing that happened this week: it tells you in Preach My Gospel to pray to be able to speak with power, and I had never tried it before, so I decided to do it. For a while I have been praying for it and I didn't notice any difference until one day this week when we stopped a man with a little girl on the street and started talking to him. We pretty much gave hime the entire first lesson standing there on the sidewalk because he wanted to hear what we had to say. At the end of our little discussion he said "you have me convinced" and then he asked us what he had to do. I handed him a Book of Mormon and told him to read it and told him to come to church the next day. It was wierd because usually if somebody says something like that they are being sarcastic or making fun of us, but this guy seemed serious. He told us where he lived and we said we would go by there next week. As it turns out he didn't come to church, but we will go over to his house in the next couple of days to see how he's doing.
I have to go now, the library lady is telling me to leave.
Love,
Sora Jay
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