Buongiorno a tutti!!
I'm going to miss saying that.
I'm also going to miss wearing the nametag, wearing the Savior's name over my heart as one of His full-time representatives. But even with the nametag off, His name is still there and it will always be engraven on my heart. And I hope that, although people won't be able to read my tag and recognize me as a disciple of Christ, that they will still be able to recognize me as one of His disciples by the way I act.
I'm also going to miss wearing the nametag, wearing the Savior's name over my heart as one of His full-time representatives. But even with the nametag off, His name is still there and it will always be engraven on my heart. And I hope that, although people won't be able to read my tag and recognize me as a disciple of Christ, that they will still be able to recognize me as one of His disciples by the way I act.
Being a Witness of God and of His Son Jesus Christ isn't a calling reserved just for full-time missionaries. Every single one of us when we were baptized, promised to stand as a witness of them "at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in". And so as I share with you some of the experiences that shaped my mission, I want you to know that these experiences and the blessings that go along with them, aren't reserved just for full-time missionaries. The blessings of missionary work are available to every single one of God's children as we keep our covenant to be a witness of Him.
My last transfer in the mission, each companionship was given a little piece of paper to hang on the inside of the front door to the apartment, so we could see it every day before leaving. There was a picture of Christ with his arms extended and the scripture Matthew 10:8 "freely have ye received, freely give." Reading those words every day and reflecting on my mission, I realized that's why I chose to serve in the first place. Because I have been blessed with the gospel in my life, because I have the knowledge of eternal families, and I wanted that same knowledge and the accompanying happiness for others.
"Freely have ye received, freely give". As a missionary, the thing I gave most freely and most frequently was my testimony. All of the European mission stereotypes are true, and yes, they apply to the Italy Rome Mission. We spent most all day every day on the streets talking to everyone in sight and bearing our testimonies to anyone who stopped for even 30 seconds. In those instances, it was amazing to feel God's love for the person with whom we were talking and to help them recognize the reality of it. Let's just say one of the biggest lessons I learned was how to respect the agency of others and the importance of seed planting!!
I've done some reflecting on the times in my mission and the people with which I was most able to 'freely give' of my testimony. There was one transfer in particular when I was in a small little city, called Statte, and there weren't a whole lot of options for street contacting. My companion and I decided to go to every café in the city and leave 4 or 5 advertisement cards for English course at the register, in the hopes of getting more English course students. The goal was to leave as few cards as possible so we could return the next week or in a couple days to refill the stack and get to know the owner of the café. There was one bakery in particular where the owner and his wife, each time we returned to refill the stack of fliers, become more and more curious as to who we were and their questions were endless. Their names were Giuseppe and Elvira. They claimed to be catholic, like all other Italians, but had questions about our beliefs. As we stopped by week after week, we started leaving them with pamphlets, family proclamation, and eventually a copy of The Book of Mormon. Giuseppe would get heated and try to debate with us on pretty much any doctrinal concept we brought up. But they would always give us some of the fresh treats they had baked, so we kept passing by to "refill our English course fliers". We would invite them to read specific chapters from The Book of Mormon and pray but they didn't really want to listen, just contend. Then one day Elvira decided to invite us over for lunch the following Sunday. Of course we said yes, you don't say no to Italian food. This was the first of many Sunday afternoons with their family, it was back in January so in preparing to speak to you today I went back and read my journal and emails to remember specifically how it all went down. This is what I wrote:
<<Italians. Are. Stubborn. We've talked with Giuseppe and Elvira about the gospel, given them a copy of the Book of Mormon, and when we stopped by to visit them this week, they invited us to their house for lunch on Sunday! Naturally we were pumped because, Italian food is the best food and we'd get to teach them the full-blown restoration :). After being stuffed with enough food to feed all of Statte, we got right down to it and started explaining our beliefs. Well, Italians love to talk.. so saying we got cut off a few times and lost control of the conversation would be an understatement. But there was an amazing spirit in the room when we read Moroni 10:5 together and testified that sincere prayer will lead to real answers. An immediate calmness settled on them and Giuseppe said: "I've been searching. I've been asking God to help me decide which religion to follow and for Him to show me a sign. And now I'm starting to think that maybe you guys are the sign he is sending me." It was so beautiful to hear him say that! And Elvira, although she claims to be super catholic, by the end she was saying: "I never invite people over to our house. When I told my son you were coming over he was surprised and wondered why I had invited you. But for some reason, I felt inspired to have you over today. Something inside me told me it was right". The spirit was so strong and I am so excited to hopefully go back and teach them more!! This family is amazing. Stubborn, but amazing.>> So that's what I had written in my journal.
Anyways, with each visit, Giuseppe and Elvira softened more and more and eventually we were reading The Book of Mormon together several times a week. We taught them the lessons. Everything was moving smoothly but Giuseppe just had 1 block: the word of wisdom. He smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day and had lost all of his teeth as a result. He wanted to quit but was too dependent. But, with the help of the ward members and lots of fasting and prayer, he fought for several months and eventually was able to overcome this addiction. He and Elvira both saw it as a total miracle. It was. And then from there he could feel the spirit more fully and just did a complete 180. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives, it's as simple as that. Giuseppe 'freely received', freely opened his heart to the gospel and as a result was then able to 'freely' give his will to God.
Another person with which I was able to 'freely give' of my testimony was Gioia. Gioia is 16 years old and I just remember the first time I met her thinking "where and how did the sisters meet her?" but all judgements aside and after a few weeks we became like sisters. Gioia had a hard family situation and was so attracted to the light of the gospel, the happiness that we had as missionaries, the fellowshipping of the members, and the power of The Book of Mormon. As we read together and studied together, she sincerely asked questions and prayed for answers and was not afraid to put her past life behind and follow Jesus Christ.
While serving in Sicily, we had some friends that, though they had little to nothing, chose to 'freely give' to us as they 'freely received' that which we had to teach. Though they were a young family struggling to make ends meet, they never failed to serve us mountains of rice when we came over to teach them the lessons. We're talking about a cute couple to a 6 month old baby girl, who were praying and asking God where to go to church. Before giving up they asked one more time, "if you don't show us by this Sunday, we won't go to church again." The next day we met them on the street. Not too long after they were able to follow Christ's example and be baptized. For those of you that might not know, Italy is a country with lots of refugees, and a majority of them are from Africa. Some of the most humbling moments of my mission were those in which we got to know their stories and life experiences and see their happiness through it all. Like my friend Gift in Sardegna. She's my same age but just hearing about the things she'd been through it was like you couldn't even imagine. Fighting for her life to escape the devastation in Nigeria, watching both of her parents die but having to keep running for her own life. These are things that we can't even begin to imagine, but they're real and they happen to real people. And the amazing thing is that they are so thankful. They are so happy. Every time I heard Gift pray, she never forgot to thank God for "making her to see this day."
And these are just a few of the people that I was able to know and love during my time as a full-time missionary. But these people and many others like them helped me gain a testimony that God has a plan for every second of our lives, even those that may seem meaningless. I know that the people I was able to get to know in Italy were people I knew before this life and I'm thankful that we were able to meet and create relationships that I have no doubt will extend beyond this life.
While serving in Rome, Bishop Waddell came to share a few thoughts with us. From him I was able to learn the 15 most important words spoken by the Savior himself that are relatable to missionaries. The first 5 are: "Here am I send me (Isaiah 6:8)." This is a statement that's also said by every missionary in the field and anyone who accepts the call to serve. We filled out an application and were willing to go and serve wholeheartedly. Then come the next 7 words: "not my will but thine be done (Luke 22:42)." Because, I could be wrong, but I think that's the biggest lesson any missionary learns. That ultimately, it's in the Lord's hands and He has His own way and timing. And when you align your will with His, it becomes that much easier. There's a line in our mission hymn that says "A Dio la vita diam, ma poi la ritroverem" meaning "to God we give our life, but then we find it." Sorry that's more beautiful and makes more sense in Italian, but you get my point. In giving our life and will to God, we are more able to understand His purpose for us. And then the last 3 words are: "It is finished (John 19:30)." So: "Here am I send me", "Not my will but thine be done", and "it is finished". That moment of taking of the nametag, which was really, really hard to do. But I'm at peace knowing that "it is finished" and that I was able to give everything I had to the Lord for 18 months. I hope that He will accept this small sacrifice I have to give.
Because of my mission I'm changed. It wasn't necessarily the mission itself or the experiences therein that changed me, but more so living the gospel to the fullest and sharing it with everyone in sight. I know that the gospel has the power to change lives, even our own, if we let it do so. If we are willing to say "not my will but thine be done." And I know that the Book of Mormon is true and a testament of Jesus Christ. That, it too, has the power to change hearts and lives and through it we can grow closer to Christ and learn more about his gospel. I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and that He was willing to 'freely give' so that I and each of you can 'freely receive'.
I want to invite each of you individually to ponder that verse in Matthew 10:8, "freely have ye received, freely give." We just celebrated Thanksgiving and were able to recognize the things we have received and for which we are thankful and now with Christmas approaching it's time to 'freely give'.
Elder Eyring says that:
"Many of you will in the Christmas season find ways to give food to people who are hungry. As you do, you bring joy to the Lord. Yet He taught us that there is a way to give an even more priceless and lasting gift. He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” With all the kindnesses we give for Him, the greatest we can offer is to point those we love and serve toward Him, the only source of eternal life."
The greatest gift you can give this Christmas and throughout the entire year is that of helping others come to develop a personal relationship with their Savior. Because isn't that what Christmas is all about? Is there a gift that means more to you than that of His sacrifice? I promise you that as you more freely give of your testimony to your friends and everyone around you that Heavenly Father will pour our blessings and you will experience greater joy than you ever thought possible.
Vorrei lasciarvi con la mia testimonianza che io so che Dio e' il nostro padre celeste e che lui ci ama davvero. Sono grata che ci ha mandato il suo figlio Gesu' Cristo cossiche' abbiamo una' possibilita' per ritornare a lui. So che Joseph Smith fu un profeta e che lui restauro' il vangelo per noi. Sono grata per la mia famiglia e per il loro sostegno durante tutta la vita, ma specialmente questo periodo della mia missione. Sono grata per il tempio e la conoscenza che posso vivere per sempre coi miei cari. Amo l'italia e amo la mia missione e le esperienze che ho potuto fare li'. Sono grata per tutte le benedizione che ho e per ognuno di voi. Vi lascio questa la mia testimonianza nel nome di Gesu' Cristo, Amen.
