Mission Miracle from Elder Benjamin Miles

I just wanted to write you about a miracle we had this week!

So I was on an exchange with Elder Nelson! and we spent the day contacting, and at one point during the day we were at the church and I didn't really now what to do with our time and then I felt prompted to go outside and invite people to an activity that we were going to have that night! So we went outside and I tried to stop this one man and he just kept walking and then I heard somebody say “Elder” and I looked around to see who was there and there is this boy by the gate of the church and he told me that he is a member, and he told me that he hasn't been to church in a year but that he wants to come back and so I offered to have a lesson with him and he said yes! We went and had a lesson that went really well and he came to church and everything and it was like he had never missed a day. I just love how the lord takes care of all of his children! He knew that kid was standing outside of the church and that he needed something spiritual in his life and so the Lord prompted his servants to go out there and find him. Phillip, (the name of the boy) told me that he had gotten off at the wrong bus stop and was heading to the bus stop next to the church when we were exiting and he decided to stop us! It was a miracle!

Mission Miracle from Sora Elizabeth Lovell

Is everyone ready for something AMAZING!!!!
MAIA IS GETTING BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!! That is Alina's Mom!!! She finally doing it. I will tell you what happened. It was VERY unexpected.

So this past planning session I was reorganizing our white board (where we list who we work with-investigators, recent converts, less actives, and so on)and I actually moved Maia down to the end of the list of investigators to show she was no longer a focus, she was not progressing and I basically accepted that she would be an eternal investigator always saying "I'll get baptized in December...I'll get baptized in January...I'll get baptized in February" but never actually making any commitments and never actually entering the font. THEN...on Sunday (after a week of both Maia and Alina being sick and actually thinking they were not coming) Alina and Maia come in to church. Sacrament meeting has ended and it is time to start the Investigators' Sunday School class. I sit down next to Alina who is next to Maia. The lesson was fabulous (by our fearless district leader and his amazing companion) and Maia answered questions (not super surprising she is an intelligent women and studied the bible in her life) and her and Alina sat next to each other in their skirts (I was at least grateful when Maia came she also wore a skirt because neither of them liked the idea at all when I suggested Alina, being a member, needs to come in a skirt) and again the thought came into my mind that Maia will just never get baptized (pathetic, I know). Then after the class, Alina got up to use the restroom and I have NO IDEA WHY but I suddenly found myself scooting over next to Maia and asking, "Deci, cand vei fi botezta?" or "So, when will you get baptized?" I could not believe the words coming from my mouth. Even more surprising was her answer, just as bold as my question "I need to look at the calendar because I am ready now."
WHAT????? When or how her heart was changed I am not exactly sure but WOW! I told Sora Howard and she could not stop smiling and then Janyela and Mariana came over to congratulate her. We were already planning a lunch together (Sora Howard, me, Janyela, Mariana, Alina, and Maia) for Saturday so Maia decided why not just do the baptism then and then get confirmed on Sunday. What did I say to that? "SURE!" Oh, and when Alina came out of the bathroom Sora Howard told Alina to ask her Mom, "what is the surprise?" Aw, when Maia said "I am getting baptized on Saturday Alina's face just lit up!!! She gave her Mom a big hug. It was so cute.
Sora Howard and I have tons to do before Saturday! MAIA IS GETTING BAPTIZED. We are probably scratching the lunch and just having treats after cause we have tons to do.

Another miracle though also came from listening to the promptings of the spirit. Our district leader gave us a challenge this week to place 10 Russian Book of Mormons. We do not have missionaries that speak Russian right now but SO MANY people speak Russian and there is a whole lot of other reasons why we were given this assignment that I will just tell you when I get home if you really want to know but anyways....Sora Howard and I prayerfully chose where we needed to go block knocking in hopes that on this particular day we would place 5 or those 10 books. Oh man, on the Maxi Taxi (tiny van bus way of traveling) over there I placed 2 with the two men that sat next to me (We really are focusing on men because we have so many women in the church) and they were both really neat then when we finally found the street we wanted to go to we went to the top of the first block and after 2 floors we already gave out the last 3 and we were able to make it to our last appointment of the night. When Sora Howard and I left the block we could just feel the spirit so strong (she was really on a spiritual high... she could not stop smiling and laughing for joy) and we just felt the spirit confirm that we did what God wanted us to do. We planned, found, and taught by the spirit. I love this work. God's hand is really in it.

Mission Miracle from Elder Devon Fitzgerald

This past week we got a new investigator named Ioan. The way he found us reminds me of several stories that I've heard of in the Ensign. Growing up, he studied to be a priest and was for 10 years of his life. To be a priest, he had to get married, and unfortunately did due to demand rather than love. 10 years afterward, he was devastated when his wife left him for someone else. According to him, that was the first time that God told him that his place was not in the orthodox church. However, he still wanted to serve as a priest. He was required to remarry and serve somewhere outside of the city for 5 years. After that he was promised stewardship in Bucuresti. So he did exactly what he was asked to do. After the 5 years he was denied the stewardship that was promised to him. The second time God told him that his place was somewhere else. He said that it was at that moment where he began to search for his answers. He said that he was clearly told that there was something else for him. So he went to every church he knew of but it didn't fill his emptiness, using his words. That search lasted for almost 6 years. Then one day he came across an article about a problem that a certain orthodox priest had with mormon missionaries in Pitesti. From reading the article he understood that the priest wasn't worth listening to (his words again) and that young boys teach English as well as religion. My favorite part of this story is the fact the Lord created a referral from an article which was an attempt of somebody to give us negative press. So he took the address which was written incorrectly in the article and started looking. He talked to several taxi drivers and individuals on the street until someone realized that He wanted to find Str. Florariei (our actual address) instead of Str. Florilor (the incorrect address from the article). After finding our villa he was discouraged by the fact that no one was there. So he came back again and again, a total of 12 times! On the 12th time we were at the villa. A piano lesson had just ended and we were in the kitchen speaking in English. He entered the villa and saw that there wasn't anyone there. So he looked around. I can't think of the courage it would take to come into a foreign church unannounced, and then to approach the individuals in a separate room who were speaking a foreign language. But to him, he wanted nothing more than to find his answers. He asked us a little about the English classes and we took his information and told him that they will start again in about a month and a half. He then asked us if we could discuss religion before that because that's far too long for him to wait. Surprised, we were excited to take him into the other room and have a discussion. We promised him that all of his answers were in the Book of Mormon and he was more than excited to take one. He told us about his life and how he's been searching for us. We could only just sit back and be amazed at his diligence and how prepared he was to meet us. He wants to do everything to find God and help everyone else to do the same, especially his 4 children and wife (he remarried). We literally couldn't ask for more. This was an answer to a lot of prayers. Last week we were talking and were saying that the only thing that Pitesti did have was a serious, progressing investigator. I personally had started to think that people like Parley P Pratt didn't exist anymore. People educated in scripture, yet humble enough to want more, and even realize that there is more. This whole thing happened on Wednesday. On Saturday, we met with him again and were able to talk about the restoration. He told us about the first time He read the Bible and he had a feeling which made him know that is was true. That was actually when he wanted to be a priest. He said he hasn't had that feeling again... until he picked up the Book of Mormon and started to read it. We are promised that people will be lead to us. I learned quite abruptly that this is very true. Unfortunately he was unable to come to church because he lives 30 km outside of the city and he hadn't been home for a week. But the story isn't over yet.

Mission Miracle from Elder Kent Herrick

During my exchange with Elder Davis we found a man on the street, who recognized us as missionaries by the name of the church on our nametags. He came up to us and started saying "Doctrine and Covenants" and "Pearl of Great Price." At first Elder Davis was worried that he was just a trouble maker, but it turns out that he didn't know much about the church, but he had just found the LDS version of the scriptures on the internet while searching for the King James Bible. So we had a good discussion with him on a park bench. He had a lot of deep doctrinal questions and is really interested, so we gave him a Book of Mormon. He's going to school here, but lives out of town la tara. So he might be hard to meet with, but I'm just glad we found him.

I think a large part of the miracle is how we found him. Earlier in the day, I had decided against going home to make lunch, and instead we grabbed a quick shaorma in centru. And just before we found him I had decided to walk on that certain side of the street. If we hadn't of done both of those we never would have found him. We definitely had the spirit with us, I think largely in part due to Elder Davis' great job of having us SYL. Plus we had some other really good lessons that day too.

Mission Miracle from Elder Benjamin Miles

We had a miracle!
We had an exchange this week with Elder Boyd from Craiova and it went really well. Our goal was to listen to the spirit and follow him! So we walked around and searched and when we felt prompted we stopped the people. The best part is that we were stopping a good amount of people and it was going ok. A lot of people listened to us and we gave out a lot of information about the church. I noticed that I was doing a lot of the stopping and I really wanted Elder Boyd to stop someone and when he finally did it turned out to be a really cool guy who said he was totally willing to read the Book of Mormon and to meet with us! This is a miracle because I really wanted Elder Boyd to know and have the faith the he can find the elect and to find such a wonderful investigator was really good for him!
After that we donated all of our time to getting ready for the open house which was a huge success! 60 people came to see the open house 37 of them being non members/investigators, it was such a cool experience! One of our investigators came, and I almost missed him but he came and so we were super happy to see that!
Also we had another miracle this week, we have been praying really hard to have investigators at church and this Sunday, God answered our prayer and we had 3 show up! One of them is this investigator from Syria and we are going to give him a b -date tonight! We are visiting him with one of our recent converts!

Mission Miracle from Sora Kimberly Ertel

1- I was street boarding a week or two ago and wasn't having tons of success, but eventually felt a strong prompting to stop a certain woman walking towards me. She was probably in her early 30's, and I stopped her, asked her a few questions, and told her we had a message about Heavenly Father's plan for us. We had a decent 5-minute conversation or so, but in the middle she starts to cry and proceeds to tell me that she had a strong feeling as she was walking by that she needed to stop and talk to us and that she was so thankful that I stopped her. She had had a recent death in the family, so I was able to testify to her of the power of the plan of salvation for us and how she needs the gospel in her life. I haven't gotten ahold of her yet but we should be able to this week! It was truly one of the coolest little miracles I have seen on my mission.
2- We commited our main progressing investigator, Ani, to stop smoking almost 2 weeks ago. She smoked a pack and a half (about 30 cigarettes) a day, and has smoked since she was 13-ish (she's in her late 20's) just because everyone else was doing it. She really wanted to stop, and has stopped once or twice before, so we knew she could do it. My companion and I have just never had to deal with this type of situation before, so we didn't know quite how to handle it. We asked her to smoke 5 cigarettes less by the weekend (about 4 days away) and we would call her and check up/help out every night. Well, to make a long story short, she went from 30 to 8 in one day, 2 after one week, and 0 the day after that. As of today she hasn't smoked at all in 5 days! She is so amazing and so prepared! We had no idea she would be able to quit so quickly, and she testified to us that neither did she- she thought it would take her 1-2 months. And her testimony of the Word of Wisdom is already so strong, as she tells us that she already feels so much better, more free, peaceful, and hardly any cravings or temptations at all. The effect of the gospel on her life has changed her so much, and she and her family are already so much happier. She truly is our miracle investigator! (She has a baptismal date for Dec. 7th currently).
Thanks for all of your help, especially in our interviews this week. It was great to see you and great to get some new insight into our work here in Arad. I am loving it!

Mission Miracle from Sora Kiss-Maxim

Here's a miracle... it's a personal one that many would not really get. But it's a big one. I talked to my mom the other day after she went to the doctor for a check-up. She went there, and the doctor told her that she is one of the very few lucky ones to discover the cancer in the first phase, that they were surprise of the test results that they did on her kidney. She doesn't have to go through any additional treatment. The doctor checked the rest, to see the tumors and cysts on her ovaries and uterus, and they are all gone. The doctor asked my mom if she was sure that she had any. She showed him the papers from the last test, and he was shocked! Apparently, my mom is fine! She can run the marathon... not really, but she's not dying! She told me that our home is not dark and gloomy anymore, that no one talks about death anymore, that they can smile again. That's my miracle!

Mission Miracle from Sora Megan Runyan

I want to tell you about what I consider a miracle that happened yesterday when we were singing at the hospital. Most of the time the patients cry when we sing to them and it is just such a tender experience and it makes us so happy to be able to brighten their days. As you probably have observed Romanians are soo cool they just always bless you with health, every good thing "toate cele bune" etc...and sometimes they even tell me that God will bless with with a handsome husband. Well I will have to see about that...ha ha. It is sooo funny the things they say. I love it. Well anyway, yesterday a patient said the nicest thing to us ever. After she wished us all health and happiness she said and "God bless your Parents they must be such great people to have such amazing children." She then said I bet they are sooo proud of you all and what you all are doing. And she said you can just see it on your faces that you are true "adevarati" and that you are clean and really believe these things. It was a really cool experience. The spirit was really there when we sang "I Believe in Christ."
This experience made me reflect on the fact so many people are missing that light in their countenance and we often don't think of ourselves as having that light (well at least I don't really think about that, I definitely should). One of my favorite parts of Preach my Gospel is on page one when it says that the Gospel will help others deepest desires to come true. It is sooo true. We all want to be happy in our lives, have happy families, and to return to our Heavenly Father, and this is all possible through His Son's Atonement and His restored Gospel. I am soo grateful for the Lord and for my opportunity to serve Him here and His people here in Romania.

Mission Miracle from Sora Danielle Jones

I had a really special experience on Saturday when we did our Spiritual thought after English. We planned out a lesson about Joseph Smith and the first vision. I had been a little worried about doing that, but kept telling myself that I didn't need to be ashamed of the truth. Also, that I knew that this had happened and I didn't need to be scared of telling about it to everyone. So, we began the lesson and as soon as we started I could feel the Spirit just envelope me. As I testified that I knew what Joseph experience is true, my testimony grew even more and I knew the Spirit was there testifying with me. I loved it! I hadn't felt that way in a long time. Something I will always remember.

Mission Miracle from Sora Elizabeth Lovell

This week I felt a constant reminder about looking for and recognizing miracles. I felt so blessed pondering all the simple to magnificent miracles God allowed me to witness. I have seen baptisms, I have seen people's lives change, I have seen the impossible become possible here in Romania! Then sitting in a district meeting, Elder Richey (DL) asked us to share more miracles from serving missions. A random thought came into my mind. My brother, William. William (now 16yrs) was born three months premature (so he has been a miracle form the beginning) and because of that he has dyslexia. His junior high days were rough. He struggled to pass every year. Us other kids hated being home when it was time for William to do his homework because there was a daily battle between him and Mom to get the work all done. I was always secretly worried that because of the discouraging grades William would find comfort in the wrong places (friends or who knows what else) and just had a lingering concern for him as a big sister. The time came for me to leave on my mission. Months later the brother just younger than me (19yrs) also left to serve a mission (Milan, Italy). Through the weekly E-mails I did not realize the tremendous miracle occurring at home. Little changes occurred weekly that I noticed in Mom's E-mails such as "I saw William reading his scriptures" or "William came home and did his homework on his own" and so many other little things. Since then William has been diligently reading the scriptures daily (despite the possible headache that comes from dyslexia) and even studying preach my gospel. Today I received an E-mail from my mom that put the icing on the cake. William received straight A's on his report card. He overcame a stepping stone even I thought was too big for him (Oh me of little faith). My brother is a miracle.

Mission Miracle from Elder Kevin Collier

I wanted to let you know of two small miracles, or tender mercies that have happened here at least in our companionship.
We met this lady in a block and not much came of her, but she told us there was a man two floors down from her door who would be interested in our message, so we went to try to find him. A young woman answered the door and we asked to talk to the man, but he didn’t live there anymore. So we asked to talk to the young woman, but she didn’t live there either. So, we tried to set up an appointment with her, but she took our restoration pamphlet and said she would call us. it was sad for me, because she seemed really open. But we moved on.
Then while passing out fliers 3 to 4 weeks later, I see her randomly and she comes up to me and says "I still want to meet with you, when can we meet?" so we set up a week from that day, and I forgot to get her number...so I was sad and thought she would probably forget, but we prayed and when we got there, she was waiting patiently! We brought the sisters with us and then had a lesson, which went so well! She had all the right questions, and desires to know the truth! The sisters are currently having a lesson with her right now! She needs to be baptized!
ok story number two is that we knocked into this other lady around the middle of last transfer, and she seemed interested, but she wouldn’t let us in...We talked with her at the door for a good 15 minutes and then invited her to come to church the next day. She then said sure...but didn’t come. We tried to visit her again a few times but she was never home. Then last week (at least a month later)... she calls us up and says she wants us to come over that night...so we did, and had a decent lesson with her. She has a desire to change and needs the church in her life. She is a Baptist, but said the first time we talked to her (at the door) she felt something so powerful, that it has been on her mind ever since we were there...for about a month! We are now waiting for a second meeting! But she called us! It is so amazing!

Mission Miracle from Elder Justin McBride

It was this past Fast Sunday and I had been doing some of that good ol' Enos pondering. I was thinking/praying really hard on why we don't have any form of investigator but we are showing forth great works. I decided that I had what James said backwards, I had tons of works but not faith in them. I didn't think that anything my companion and I were doing was going to harvest any fruits--until I thought about it on Saturday. So I started my fast Saturday night with the intent that my companion and I would find at least one person.
Sunday morning, we showed up at the church early and as I walked in, I shook hands with somebody seated in the chapel. He was nice and open. I wasn't sure if he was a member or not so I asked him about the pamphlet that he was holding and if he had read it. He replied that he had and that the things in it were a little wierd. This was the key, I knew he wasn't a member but an investigator at this point. So I started to personalize with him, I asked about him, his age, where he was from, if he was born in Bucharest, it was a very comfortable situation. Then once we were comfortable with each other I asked him why he was coming to our church. He told me that he had come with his girlfriend who is a member. Great! He stayed for Sacrament and sat with his girlfriend. I couldn't help but notice how she was being a great missionary and explaining things to him as the meeting progressed. It was great to see this happen. It was the first time I have ever seen such a thing in Romania! And for the rest of the meeting all that was going through my mind was, "TEACH HIM!!!!"
Once the meeting was over I went home and all was well, I couldn't believe what I saw. Fake-out! I ran (more like walked quickly) up to him and asked if he had half an hour to talk a little more, he was ok with it but still a little hesitant if his girl friend was going, I noticed this and quickly realized that she would teach him 100 times better than I could so I invited her. She said no, I frowned, she asked how long? I said 30 minutes, she agreed and came! What an amazing chain! So during the lesson all I could do was teach about how once we are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost we learn a lot quicker the ways of God because we are with a member of the Godhead. He wasn't catching on but I found out during the lesson that she was inactive for a long time and that once she started to come back to church she realized how quickly she was learning new things. It was fantastic lesson and the Spirit was there in full force! My companion and I testified really well about the Book of Mormon and it's influence on the church and on our lives. I even tried to commit him to baptism letting him know that if he had a goal in mind he would be more likely to have the desire necessary to learn and succeed in the Gospel, but he rejected that idea and wants to be convinced first. However I know that when "Preach My Gospel" tells us to commit early, it doesn't say that the people will agree. At least right now he understands that it is expected of him to be baptized when he gains a testimony that what my companion and I told him is true.
It was a great lesson that I hope moves forward. I pray that he was honest, and truly seeking the truth. I know that if not, then what my companion and I did this last Sunday was to plant a seed that will one day grow.

Mission Miracle from Sora Deborah Thompson

Here are two really cool miracles from this week:
1. Cristi (9 year old boy) was supposed to get baptized last week. Well they didn’t show up for the baptism and the mom showed up late to church saying that he wasn’t getting baptized because the grandpa freaked out and said if he gets baptized he is kicking them out of the house. We were all very sad. Well this week they had just finished their piano lesson and as they were leaving, Elder Harwood was walking in. Normally the mom brings them to their lessons, but this time the dad (who is not a member and used to be very rough with the kids) brought them. He stops Elder Harwood and says "not this Sunday but next, I’m bringing Cristi and he is getting baptized. And la anul (meaning either by the end of the year or within the year) I will be making the step too." Now that was a true miracle. The spirit has totally worked in this man that he now not only desires his son to be baptized, but also himself. He has become a much better husband and father—he is kinder with his family and takes care of them better. It’s been really amazing to watch.

2. Saturday was a great day. We got to work with an inactive who I have been trying to get a hold of for forever. It was perfect timing because she has been going through some really hard times lately and she is in desperate need of help. It was actually kind of a miracle how we got a hold of her. I have been trying to contact her for about 6 weeks. Some weeks I have tried harder and called several times a day, but she never answers her phone. I didn’t know how to get a hold of her, I only knew that every time I saw the previous sisters who were here they would tell me I need to work with her. Well, at the zone conference one of the previous sisters gave me directions and an address, so Sora Jones and I decided to just stop by on Thursday. The lady we were looking for got out of the lift as we were getting in and we just barely crossed paths and were able to set up an appointment for Saturday. It really was a miracle that we contacted her because this week she was in dire need of help from us, and now we were able to develop a relationship with her and we can now help her through her problems.

Mission Miracles from Elder Alden Campbell

1) Elder Miles and I were walking down a street handing out "Open House" flyers and we came to a kind of fork thingy in the road....to the right was a street that looked super old and European and I felt we needed to go down it...so we did and the first person we talked to was an old man outside of his house sweeping. He took a Book of Mormon and said he would come to the open house on the 15th. We then talked to a Jehovah’s Witness and by the end we had done our part and testified about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of Jesus Christ...in any case he is at least more open to us now. We had a good discussion with him and he would actually kind of listen.
2) That night we felt like we needed to be outside doing something instead of staying at the President Oaks fireside so we went to a block where Elder Roundy and I had knocked to give someone a Book of Mormon like we had promised...well he wasn't home so we went to the bus stop and sat down just to figure out a bit what we needed to do. I looked across the street to some blocks and had an impression to go to a certain block...my companion had the same impression and so we went. The second person we talked to was open to the Book of Mormon and told us to come back so we could talk to her more when she had time. As we were doing this we got a phone call and had to leave the block. I am amazed that God led us to a person who was willing to accept the Book of Mormon right before we needed to go do something else. He takes care of His children...and His Books of Mormon. If we had caught the bus we wouldn't have had that experience. I am grateful that God is merciful enough and loves me enough to give me opportunities to be a witness of HIS constant miracles and work. What a blessing. Today was a very guided day. I love days like that. He knows where HIS elect are...we need to listen! and then DO! It's that easy!

Mission Miracle from Elder Spencer Boyd

We had a really sweet experience on Saturday. Elder Burrows and I knew we had to visit our less-active family and we finally did. We decided to make them brownies because we didn't want to go over there with nothing. Before we left we said a prayer that we would be received because we actually really need their help with building the branch. We prayed and asked that a way would be provided for us because in the past before I got to Craiova, the missionaries had some unsuccessful visits, meaning they ended badly. Anyways, we basically prayed for a miracle. We went over there with the brownies and rang the bell. The husband came out. Now I had never met the husband before and it was Elder Cantlon that told me that he didn't want anything to do with the church anymore. So, I was nervous. But it was fine, he told us they were busy, but then he saw that we brought brownies so he let us in. Brownies are magical. We offered to help, but they replied no and said they were going to take a break. Elder Burrows saw what they were doing, which was hardwood flooring. He asked again if we could help because he had done that before and they accepted. It turned out that they actually needed our help. Elder Burrows knew what to do so I just helped where I could. We finished laying down the floor and everything worked out great. After, we sat down in the living room, ate the brownies and got to know them better. The wife loved the brownies. Everything that happened during this sitting period was amazing. We got to know them better and then the wife brought out this photo album which had pictures of all the old missionaries and the photos of their baptism. All of these photos invited the spirit and softened the husband’s heart. It was really good for him to see those photos. All four of us looked through this album and the family explained each one and told us about the missionaries that found them. It was great. At the end of the album they had their baptismal certificates and we saw them, which was great too. After we looked at the photos we asked them questions about their baptism, and what happened. We learned that Craiova was very different from Bucharest after the revolution. They were baptized in 1992 which was about 3 years after the revolution. Craiova was very different because it still had a lot of communist influence. It was hard for them because if you were different, everybody would know what you did and everybody would watch you. People were still very suspicious, so the family went back to the Orthodox church because it was “safer” and more comfortable for them. We then told them that we needed their help and that God needs their help here in Craiova. They said they would try with the church again. Our conversation on the whole matter went so well, everything was perfect. We came at the right time, the photo album, everything. It all provided a way for us to find out what they needed and how we can help them. We concluded by singing them a hymn and a prayer. Now here's the best part. The husband walked us out and down the street a bit and before he sent us off he said that coming to visit was a very wise move on our part. Oh my gosh it was so amazing. It was indeed a little miracle.

Mission Miracle from Elder Eric Rigby

We had planned to go on Halloween night to a cemetery (to share the message of the Plan of Salvation, of course) a little ways outside of the main part of the city but by the time we got there it was dark and there wasn't anyone there, so we headed over to a block in which we knew we could find a less-active member. On the way over to the block we got a phone call from the family that we would be having a lesson with an hour later who called to cancel our meeting due to family problems.
We were a little bummed at this point as our whole night basically fell to pieces. We got to the door of the less-active and, to our utter dismay, found out that he was not home and, according to a neighbor, doesn't even live there anymore. Distraught, we sulked out of the block and found our way over to the bus stop. It was then that my companion, Elder de Guzman, looked at me with a grin and said, "Do you think that we should have block-knocked in that block?" I smiled at his eagerness to keep going and suggested that we say a prayer in a small corner by a store. We said a prayer and both felt that we should return to the block.
Once entering the block, we were rejected, yelled at, stared at and shunned. Not knowing exactly why we were there, I was less than impressed when an old man (80 + years) opened the door and stared at us with very empty, sad eyes. I explained that we were missionaries sent to share a message. He invited us in. We sat down with Domnul Adamache and offered a prayer. I began to tell him of our experience of praying in the corner to receive inspiration. I told him of how we had been rejected and came to him and he received us. I explained how much Heavenly Father loves this man and wants him to be happy. The man's eyes teared up a bit and he sat a bit taller. He couldn't understand very well and he couldn't really speak. We were in a position that we couldn't effectively teach him because of his physical disabilities to grasp the ideas we were laying out before him. However, the Spirit touched him and it touched me. We will probably not go back to him very often, but the miracle lies more in the fact that he knows what the Spirit feels like and he knows better that Heavenly Father can and does answer prayers.

Mission Miracle from Elder Michael and Sora Suzanne Bryson

Here is our miracle story.
Heavenly Father never gives up on anyone and neither should his children give up on each other.
We are learning this valuable lesson while serving in Romania.
For whatever reason our members have for becoming less-active, we have the Christ-like obligation to love them back into activity in God's church.
We have seen this miracle of love happen in two cities in Romania. One very special sister was loved back into activity by her Branch President and fellow saints. She became confused by Satan and his sly methods. She did not want to attend church anymore and gave up her callings in the branch. For several months her branch president counseled her about the doctrines of the church and gently encouraged her back into activity. She now has a calling in the branch again and is once again happy in the gospel. She e-mailed to thank us for our patience and love in not giving up on her and remembering her through our e-mails.

We have another young woman who was baptized several months ago who is now less-active because she is extremely shy and does not want the attention she receives at church. She told us she now attends the Orthodox church because she goes unnoticed and does not have to worry about being seen. Of course our church is a church of warmth and acknowledgment, so we do not just ignore people. The sisters in her branch are not giving up on her and their efforts are paying off. They send her cards and letters each month and invite her to the branch's activities. She loves children so she went with them to the Orphanage and really liked it. After the orphanage activity, she asked two of the sisters if they would come and visit her and give her a message. WOW! How excited we were to hear her say that. We will love her back into the arms of her Savior where she will learn to accept being noticed and loved.

We firmly believe that through the efforts of loving members each less-active member has the opportunity to choose to come back into the fold of Jesus Christ. We must remember that "Nothing is impossible with God."

Love conquers all and we are God's angels here on the earth to help "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Mission Miracle from Sora Elizabeth Lovell

Mission Miracle from Sora Elizabeth Lovell
November 3, 2008

Oh my goodness! Alina and Mariana are absolutely amazing!!! I am going to brag a bit about Mariana today. Mariana loves to wear pants, t-shirt, and pony tail. She is tough, but quite, smart, but shy, and once you get to know her she cracks jokes left and right. We have such a hoot together! Our P-day is kind of...none existent today (we have two appointments and we are putting up fliers around town for English) So Mariana is going to be chillin' with us hanging up English Posters. Anyways, on Tuesday we had her teach us the lesson on the restoration. Her instructions were:
Use the pamphlet on the restoration and the Joseph Smith Brochure
Use at least two scriptures
Needs to be about 10-15 minutes long.
Oh and answer all the questions in the back of the pamphlet
This girl went above and beyond. Not only did she use plenty of scriptures, she also asked questions, bore testimony, and had a GAME at the end to help with understanding. OH MY GOODNESS! It was amazing. She was bummed after because she looked at her notes and she said she forgot to mention things but I explained how that is "the story of my LIFE" and how we as missionaries often change the lesson a bit in the time we are teaching. Anyways, we assigned her for this week to do the plan of salvation and she asked to have a couple days to prepare before Tuesday but she let me know on Sunday that she is already done because it’s her favorite part of the gospel and so she got excited preparing it. She has also read from the beginning of the Book of Mormon up to Jacob! Oh, and to top it all off....I called her on Saturday night to recommended coming in a skirt from now on since after her confirmation she would be a membra intreaga (a full member) and she told me that she has not worn a skirt since 4th grade....she is 20 now...but I told her that that s what the modern day prophets have asked that we wear on Sundays. Bless her heart, on Sunday she came in pants and went to the rest room and changed into a really....interesting skirt! She was so uncomfortable being in a skirt but she knew that she was doing the right thing. The skirt was really funny...I would not have liked it either. I really want to get her a better one. After sacrament meeting she said, "Yes! I can change now right?" I said "no, not till after all three meetings" man, her face fell so fast but then a smile was back on her face as we went to Sunday School but right after Relief Society she was changed in two seconds but she said she will bring a skirt to change into every week. She also helped with a discussion with an investigator who came to church and she did amazing...of course.
Oh, and about the confirmations...they were beautiful and Mariana just continues to get the confirmation from Heavenly Father that what she is doing is right. Her tear filled eyes were glittering when she came and sat next to Janyela and me after her confirmation and then totally out of character she just turned and hugged me so tightly and said "thank you". Thank me??? I didn't do anything. These girls are all just amazing. The branch is too. We have wonderful members that are doing so good at fellowshipping these new converts.