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July 11, 2023

Bună friends and family! Happy late fourth of July!!! 

Experienced my first fourth of July outside of America. We went to Big 5, an "american" burger joint to celebrate and we got the owner to let us play patriotic music over the speakers, and sing the national anthem. So rad, but I've never wanted to be in America more. 

Popovici, our branch president invited us over to have lunch and share a spiritual thought with him. I was confused on the trek over, because we know his wife doesn't welcome us. Turns out we are meeting in a house he's doing construction on, so the front lawn is trashed, there's no light and popovici comes out in a half buttoned shirt and swim trunks. There's no furniture so sora Watson's on a stool, sora godfrey/Griffin on a dusty bench and I'm on a bucket with tile on top. We laugh and joke around, and after he impromptu runs to the store to buy us more cookies, we get ready to share a spiritual thought. AS SOON as sora godfrey starts speaking it begins to POUR RAIN. There's no doors or windows to shut, so she starts yelling the verse in broken romanian. She points to me, and you already know I'm deaf, and so I just start yelling nonsense at him, he responds, and I hear nothing. And when it was time to leave, he made us makeshift ponchos out of plastic tarps. 

Președintele și Sora Fowler got dinner with us as part of their country tour. I'm unhealthy and got a gigantic burger that they all watched me eat. Bros, my lips were shaking cause I was so nervous it was so funny. Spoke with Fowler in Romanian across the table, NERVERACKINGG. Had really great interviews with them the next morning. Words can't express how grateful I am that they are here and how present they are. 

Later in the week, we just finish a really disappointing lesson after having to drop a friend and we're sitting in the church contemplating. We then hear an aggressive rattling at the door and it's this old man trying to get in. It's just sora Griffin and I at the church, so I cautiously open the door and he comes running in saying "DONT WORRY BE HAPPY"! He rips a paper out of his pocket and shows missionary names and says he needs our help. He rushes in and makes me translate letters and notes about the government and Russia's plans to take over the world into English so he can send them. He's telling me the whole time that people are following him, demonstrating on the ground that the poor are spies, and checking the building for mics. He writes his name and then rips it up, and I'm over trying to translate before our English class starts arriving. I finish it, he tells me to keep the notes and burn them, kisses me on the head and then leaves in haste. I was CRYING. Apparently he's an old friend of the elders. 

Anyways, I hope your past weeks were amazing and the next week is too. I love you all! Keep in touch! 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dMoS695ecX6zgo2y5 

My Google photos album! 

Sora Post