Death becomes her

This is my last week as a missionary. It's crazy ... I know. I'm coming home. It's a hard thing to do yet I know my time has come to an end here in Romania. Christmas was great! We spent it with Romanians. They are so kind to share all of their favorite foods with us. It's a holiday and that means every type of meat possible! Yay. I do like eating with them though. They are great.  So kind.  My lovely companion bought me a couple gifts so I would have something to open. It was so sweet. My present from family is an European tour before returning to the states.  I feel so loved! I'm going to miss being a missionary and serving other people but it's my time to continue on with my life. Perhaps I can do more with what I have learned back in the 'real world.'  Life is a wonderful adventure which never slows or pauses, even if you wish it might, just for a second. I'm trying to adjust to the idea that it is my time. I am a phoenix. I will die and be reborn something new and beautiful!
Look out world, I'M COMING BACK!

Love you like Jesus,

Sora Heim

American Soil

For some reason the hot water in our apartment isn't working very well. There's hot water in the sinks, but NOT THE SHOWER! I'm fine if my shower is freezing occasionally by some freak accident, or if I am living in a hut on my mission on some remote island, but come on! Romania is not 3rd world. Why have I been taking cold showers for a month?  This is just silly.  Maybe it will get better soon, at least my shower time has decreased a lot. Though I do tend to huddle away from the jet of ice shooting at me, and, it takes me at least ten minutes of prayer and self motivation to step in and wash myself as quickly as possible. (*This blog post may be over exaggerated...but, the fact that I've started using the sink instead of the actual shower is true.)

All the missionaries went to the US Embassy to carol. That was SWEET! The people were super nice and their kids are legit. I would totally work for the Embassy or the CIA. Agent Heim! Woohoo. We ate there also.  They had actual American products! I got some Canada Dry ginger ale with my spaghetti. Tasty. It was unreal the moment we passed through the gates. Once we stepped over the threshold of the building it was as if we were in America. Seriously, everything was so American, and CLEAN!

A Visit to the Black Sea

At times I do not feel like I am in Romania.  I felt that way this week as I looked from the windows of the Constanta Sister's apartment at the Black Sea. Is this real? It looks like I am at the ocean waiting for my ship to come take me back to the US. Then I remembered that we don't travel by boat anymore I will be flying home. It is an odd thought because I really do not feel like it is going to happen yet. I feel like all the other transfers except for one thing. I know my name won't be on the next transfer board. The Black Sea was nice....the wind that resulted from the sea was not! It was sooo cold! It chilled me to the bone. I hadn't thought to bring a hat to wear either so I used this random tiny black one I found in our apartment. Thankfully, I didn't get lice. That's one thing I did NOT learn from my mother.  I do not make sure a hat that is not my own is washed before I put it on. One of these days I will probably regret that.  TVs in the metro stations have been advertising lice shampoo, or something like that, for the last three transfers. Looks like this is lice season. They say the products works pretty well if you need to use them. That might just be for cartoon lice though. Oh well. C'est la vie!

By the way, if anyone wonders why they did not get any gifts from Santa this year it's because the City of Constanta Romania STOLE three of his reindeer! How dare they!

Breaking & Entering

The first of my last round of exchanges has some stories.

1) In Arad we were to meet a lady at the church for 30/30 English lesson. It was a good I asked the sisters for the church keys ... but guess what everyone forgot to mention: The Arad villa has an alarm! I opened the door.  We stepped in to a small beep. "Crap!" I said, "Do you know the code?" Of course the new missionary with me had only been in Romania for one week ... half of which was in Bucuresti. As the 'wise' senior missionary what did I do? I tried another code, of course! The alarm was going to go off whether I tried a code or not. Did it work? NO! The blare of the alarm pounded against my ear drums as I sprinted outside with the cell phone in hand  as I called the other sisters. "You didn't tell me there was an alarm! What's the code?!!!" From the other side I hear, "oh, ooops. *****."  I hang up with a quick thanks and enter it into the pad. Thankfully the alarm turned off.  I stepped outside to wait for the security people to show up. Normally, they would be there with in a minute, this time only the lesson showed up. Interesting. Overall though, it was a good day. Fun adventures!

 2) In Timisoara I was picked up from the Gara by one of the best people in the whole world.  I didn't have to walk to the apartment in the cold, YEAH!  Taxis in Timisoara will not take you anywhere under 10 lei and the apartment is way too close to the gara. So, a ride was a pleasant surprise. I had tried to make the exchange at a time when I could have gone to the branch Christmas party but we couldn't make it work out. There were just too many conflicting events. It proved to be a tender mercy from Heavenly Father.  The Timisoara branch has an elderly member with terminal cancer.  While in Timisoara I would see her more than twice a week and see how she was doing and read from the scriptures to her. We took her to the hospital a few times and helped her out as often as we could. We were always on call. Her life for the past few years has been a roller coaster.  There have been numerous times when we thought it was the end. As I was eating breakfast I thought about her. She wasn't on our schedule and the thought crossed my mind that I didn't think she would be with us much longer. The sisters told me she was not doing well the day before.  Then we received a phone call that she was in a coma at the hospital. Oh no!  We agreed we would go see her. I was grateful that Heavenly Father put me in Timisoara at a moment that I could see her again.  You can't imagine how happy I was to see her awake when I got there. She couldn't see well, so I stood as close to her as I could. She wept as she hugged my head. I told her I heard she took a nap but she woke up for me. She said it was true and but she really thinks this was the end yet someone keeps sending her back. I'm glad they did. I hope it isn't the end yet I don't want her to be in so much pain. Everyday is a battle when you have cancer.  Her life is a miracle that's for sure.  I'm glad Heavenly Father blessed me enough to be a part her life.  A few tender moments while we hold hands and read one more chapter from the Book of Mormon.