Polatis Missionaries

Draga Familie!

How is everyone doing? It is great to hear from everyone! Keep all the Emails coming I love getting updates from everyone:) Happy Birthday Grandpa Rounds!!!! Sorry I missed it! Sounds like that was a fun day!. It is so funny... I am going to get our family picture lamenated because EVERYONE wants to see it! every lesson- my vocabulary isnt that great but I bring out pictures of the family and everybody warms right up to me! They LOVE Sam! He has the dark hair and dark eyes... I showed my picture to a girl in the ward yesterday and she was like - I want to marry your brother! ha So if you want to email me some more pictures that would be awesome! Tate get ready to go!! you are so close now!! :) You guys get to talk to Sarah next week too! That is awesome I am so excited for her to get to the field.

Kara Polatis I am excited to hear that you are planning to go on a mission! You will love it! Get prepared:)

Well for this week--- To Start off has anyone been to an Orthodox Funeral? ha I am guessing the answer is NO. Well the sister of one of our less active sister has been sick for a couple of months and I guess that missionaries before I got here would go sing to her and teach her once a week. She ended up dying last sunday so we were all invited to the funeral. So picture this we walk into the "viewing" and the room is like the size of our old living room and there is 4 dead bodies in there lined up next to each other in these open wooden caskets. Orthodox icons are everyone and candles are burning. In America we try to make our people look nice... but these guys just take them straight from the hospital beds! So we walk in there and it smells like Franincense. Elder Eaton and I just went and sat on a couch on the side of the room and tried pretending that there wasnt a dead guy one foot in front of my face... ha Everyone is just passig around a bowl full of random crackers and drinking soda! People were coming in a kissing the bodies... Elder Eaton turns to me and he was like "I will give you 100 lei if you kiss the head of that dead guy" First off it was the end of the month so I know that he was out of money and second off... NEVER! ha you would have to pay me a lot more than that! Well the the priest comes in and he is doing his chanting and then they take the body out... We then go to the church and there is more chanting... We are all holding candles and people are passing around random sacks of food for us to eat. The priest keeps asking the question... ce este viata? Which is what is life? I sat there and thought about what life really is. Thankfully we know that plan of salvation. I felt really bad as I looked around at everyone crying because I thought... they really dont know... they dont know what life is all about. After the church we then went to the cemetary... (I know long day.. ha) They just carry the body through the cemetary still with an open casket and it is freezing! But we get to the grave site and then as they are lowering her in the ground they pass out bread in the shape of crosses and some sort of cake that only is served at funerals! The cake was like rice pudding texture.. you all know how much I love that... ha but after that they then had this big Romanian feast. Soup... bread... french fries... chicken,... meat... etc. So it was good! We then sang some hymns for the family and then we left to go teach English class. Seriously though I wish I could put this day into more detail! It was crazy! One of the craziest things that I have ever been too!

The next night we had a big ward party for the going away of Cata ( he is a young man from the Branch) on his mission to Germany! We had some of our less actives show up and some potential investigators so it was quite a success. They had a lot of food and Karaoke... ha It was really fun! The Branch here is so so cool! They love us missionaries so its fun! we Actually started a member training program and we had been teaching the members how to do missionary work and also set up time where we can teach people in their homes! It is working nicely we have gotten like 3 referrals! which is the only way it works in Romanian... because you aren't just asking people to change their religion they are changing every single aspect of their lives!

We started talking to one of the ladies that works here at the library! She is super nice! I tried to speak to her and I was telling her that I have only been here for like 2 weeks and she was really impressed! She was so nice she was like when you girls walk in you are always smiling and there seems to be something different about you! So we starting teaching her in her office and we are excited because we are going to teach her again this week on Friday!

Speaking of us looking different... In the MTC I remember asking my teachers if I thought I would fit in with the Romanian people.. they said no.. but I guess I really didnt believe that we would stick out so much ha Everyone is always staring at us. But it wierd because Its like that havent seen an american girl with big eyes and big lips before... I have had a lot of guys try to come up and talk to me or there are just staring at me. I was on the bus yesterday and we were going to teach one of our members husband and there was a group of guys on the bus and I was just sitting there.. they were saying something but I had no idea what they were saying.. The member just looks and me and tells me to get up and then we moved up and away from the boys. She explained to my companion after that they were saying some nasty things about me... so ya... I was so shocked... it was wierd because that is the third time that has happened to me... One day a random guy came up to me and was saying something... then a guy on the bus... Curse these good looks haha just kidding but seriously they suggested that I wear less makeup... and just not to do anything that brings more attention to myself. Having the name tag and smiling at people is already so different from everyone. It is still wierd for me here to smile at someone and they dont smile back! but ya dont worry I will just keep all the missionary rules and be smart and I will be ok. I am always right next to my companion so it will be good- I was just really shocked! We then had a lesson and it went really well.. we are the first set of missionaries that have taught him the restoration and he said he would come to church on Sunday! His daughter and I have become really good friends so she is super excited!

The German girl went on a trip for a week so we havent heard from her.. I tried calling her last night and she didnt pick up but hopefully she call us so we can meet this week!

But everything is going good! I am trying to be patient with myself. I am too hard on myself for not knowing this language -- sometimes I honestly think..."I will never get this!" But I just keep on going.. I keep on trying! I have to have faith that I will get this language. One of my favorite scriptures that I found this week is Phillippians 4:11 where is says, "Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content" I need to be content in every situation. I even looked up the work content and found that it means satisfied and happy! I just need to enjoy this humbling stage of the mission. I really am loving it here it just sometimes there are hard days or some lessons when I only catch a couple words! But I will never give up! I am 100% committed to this mission and to the Romanian people! I know that with God I can do all things! I have started reading the Book of Mormon from the first and I have one that has no markings in it--- It is amazing! I have different colors for different things and as I am reading the words come to life! I have never found more meaning in the first book of Nephi then I have had reading it this past week--- So so amazing! I just want to go and finish the whole book! We all need to be continuously feasting upon the words of Christ!

You will be happy to know that I have also started this good exercise plan for myself! I wake up every morning and we have a jump rope... so I just rope like crazy and then do push ups... sit up.. etc... But its great.. I never thought I would be able to work out in the morning but it gets easier and easier everyday! I love how good I feel after a good work out! Before I forget, tell Aunt Peggy thank you so much for the great song from her ward!!!I LOVED IT. It made me feel so good to think that these young people that don't even know me were so excited to sing for me the praises of a mission.I hope they felt the spirit like I did when I heard it. Maybe it can change some lives as well. Thanks Aunt Peg!! You'll have to do it again. That is about it for me this week! I miss you guys a lot and I hope that you are doing great! Keep up the good work in everything! I love you guys so so much! Thanks for all your love and support! I will keep working hard! Memorizing my phrases and doing the best I can! I am learning a lot of life lessons here and I am excited to be learning them here! Missions will prepare you for life and marriage that is for sure! ha But I love you guys! Thank you for writing me!! Have a great week!

va iubesc!

Sora Abby Polatis