Wednesday, July 31, 2019

L'ultima

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.



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.













Thursday, December 6, 2018

LOVE


is the word that sums up my mission. 
I'm about to start my last week. 
Here are some pictures from the week!

love you all!
with Tessy and Nora

with Laura


with Nancy

with Sorella Muce

Sorella Carley Neuberger
Vecchi M.L. , Pieri A.
Via Arapietra 61/5
Pescara, PE 65124
Italia



Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Happy Thanksgiving

This week was my 3rd consecutive Thanksgiving in Italy, and I couldn't ask for anything better. Although it definitely didn't feel like Thanksgiving, I was still able to reflect and count my blessings. Before I get into all of that, here's a quick rundown of our week!

with Sorella Stutz
Sorella Liddiard was really sick pretty much the whole week, so that definitely limited our capabilities. Let's just say our area book has never looked so good! We had a lesson scheduled that we forgot to cancel so Sorella Stutz and I went to that, perks of being in 4! It was with Antonella, the girl we met on the street and gave her a copy of The Book of Mormon! We got to explain to her the importance of the Restoration and the impact it's had on our lives! She is going to Venice for a little but hopefully when she gets back we will be able to meet again and explain more! 

We went to visit Luisa and her kids! It was a super short visit due to train times, but they are doing great! Couldn't come to church on Sunday but they are reading The Book of Mormon every day as a family! Baby steps! 

Daniela didn't show up to our appointment this week and doesn't want to do her baptismal interview which is so heartbreaking! Please pray for her. We aren't really sure what to do but we are hoping to help her realize the blessings she can recieve by living the gospel of Jesus Christ! 
SO because she didn't show up, we made brownies later that day and took them to her house. Nancy was home and we got to talk to her and then she wanted to drive us to our lesson with Sofia. She came into Sofia's house with us (they're relatives and super close) and we were intending to help Sofia with her 1st talk she was giving on Sunday, but it turned into a beautiful lesson about the importance of The Book of Mormon and Sofia bearing super powerful testimony of the changes she's seen in her life since being a member of the church---- it was INCREDIBLE! We walked home on clouds! God's timing is so beautiful and sometimes cancelled appointments lead to miracles!! 

Other huge miracle was at the english group we did in Chieti! We got there early and were talking with Joana, a student about our age that always gets there early. I was seriously thinking.. hm how can we get a gospel conversation started with her.. next thing I know she's like "hey you guys are mormons..what do you believe in? What's the difference between your church and the catholic church?" We couldn't believe it!!!!! God really does prepare people for us! We were able to briefly explain the restoration, give her a copy of The Book of Mormon, and we are meeting up this week!! 

On Thursday we had mission conference in Rome and it was incredible to hear from Elder DeFeo! Especially because he served in this mission! Plus I got to see all of my old comps that are still alive so that was a blast too. 
 
Previous companions still in the mission.  Love them all beyond words!
Lilliard, Guymon, Decker, Yanacallo, Hope, Johnson
Oh and we did stickerboarding last night, it was a huge success here in Pescara (we stole the signs I made when we came home from Rome) so thank you Chase! We met some really cool people and got lots of people to stop even though it was raining and our sign was covered in plastic wrap to protect it haha.


Alright well, I want to take the chance to say how thankful I am to be a missionary!! I'm so blessed to be a part of the Lord's work in the Italy Rome mission. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father that loves me, so much that he called me to this mission, to serve these beautiful people.

I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that it is real and so personal. Out of my whole mission experience, this is what I've come to know most. That Christ loves us so much he wants to give us the chance to improve and become better than who we were yesterday. 

I am thankful for the temple. To have one being built here in Rome and to have had the opportunity to prepare people to make covenants with God. I know that the temple is the House of the Lord, a place of refuge, and a place where we can receive revelation and guidance. But something I've come to learn throughout my mission is that when you have to, you can have sacred, revelatory experiences with the Lord no matter the circumstances or where you are....

So another thing I'm thankful for is prayer. I know God hears our prayers and that He answers them. I'm grateful that, through prayer, I've been able to strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father more than I ever thought possible. I know that he listens. That even though some days are hard and we feel like we can't do another, he's there to listen and to help when we ask for it. And that when we experience days full of miracles, he's rejoicing right alongside us. 

I'm thankful for The Book of Mormon and the power it has to change lives. I know that it's true. I'm thankful for the sacrifices that were made so that we could have this book and that I can be here to share the knowledge that Christ's restored church is on the earth today. 

And lastly, I'm thankful for my family. Not just my family at home but my mission family, the people I've been able to serve and learn from. My Italian family, the beautiful people that surround me every day. I'm thankful to be part of God's family and to have had the opportunity to know and love my brothers and sisters here in Italy. 

And like I said at the beginning, I'm thankful to be a missionary. There's no better place in the world than here. 

I love this work, I love this gospel, and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ. 
XOXO
 
Group hug with my companions

with S. Hope

with S. Dwomoh


thankful for Italian food

Sorella Carley Neuberger
Vecchi M.L. , Pieri A.
Via Arapietra 61/5
Pescara, PE 65124
Italia

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Photo Booth

This one's coming at ya live from the Indian restaurant in pescara hahaha don't ask questions. Let's just say there are only like 2 places open during pranzo and today we are experiencing a culture very different from that of the Italian! At last the food is good in both.

And speaking of the Italian culture.... We definitely learned a lot about it this week. We had an appointment with Adelchi this week, a man we met at a gesso a couple weeks ago! He's the one with the cute family and we gave him a copy of The Book of Mormon. Well, after much difficulty we found their house and basically he roasted us for a long time and we didn't get to say anything. I'd argue that now I'm fairly informed on Catholic saints, miracles performed by nuns, and lots of other crazy stuff that I can't remember because my brain was just on overload after that incontro! He was really nice and not argumentative, just not interested in changing! We tried!! 

As for an update on the other people we met from last week...... We went back to the family in Chieti and they told us maybe another time. We went back to the 11 kids family and the mom was pretty much the female version of Adelchi (see above paragraph). 

The highlight of our week was when Daniela texted us on Tuesday telling us she wants to try out the fasting thing and wanting us to join! So we got to fast together- it was really special! Plus we had a lesson that night and taught her about the law of chastity and she was really in agreement. Then we got to do a practice interview with her and scheduled her baptismal interview for Saturday! The only bad part was that when Saturday rolled around she didn't show up to the lesson or interview 😭. Or church the next day. So we are kind of confused and really sad! Especially since we haven't heard from her since! So please keep her in your prayers.

Another huge miracle of the week was Manuela! She's proof that being obedient brings blessings! We left the church at 6pm and right as we were leaving we met her on the street! We asked her if she'd ever seen The Book of Mormon. She said no. We explained it to her and bore our testimonies and she was so excited to have her own copy and meet up again!!!!!

Another similar miracle was Antonella. We met her asking the same question and she couldn't believe we just wanted to give her the book right there on the street! She was like "so we're going to meet up and read this together, right?" And we are going to meet with her tomorrow morning!!!!!! 

We had a ward party on Saturday night, a cultural festival! It was so much fun! Sorella Liddiard and I spent a while making sugar cookies and frosting and a cute photo booth. And we invited every single contact in our phone. (Our phone blew up after with all the responses we got😂). But it was worth it because 1 family came!! And Nancy came too! And Laura!! Basically there was a presentation on all of the different nationalities of our ward. But since the majority of the ward is Italian there were also presentations of different regions of Italy, they read things in their different dialects, it was funny and pretty entertaining. The grand finale of the presentation was.....USA! Best for last. The pictures they put up were of a donut, hamburger, fries, American pizza, and a suburban. Hahaha they didn't get it wrong. All of us missionaries sang a pretty arrangement of I am a Child of God (I played the piano) and closed by sharing a scripture (don't remember which) and bore our testimonies on the fact that, no matter our background, we are all children of God and He loves us!


Coolest thing that happened this week happened when we were bus finding. We hopped on the bus and it was pretty full, but there was a seat next to Sorella Liddiard. Normally we don't sit together on the transport to maximize the people we talk with, but I just felt like I should go sit next to her. The second I sat down, I realized why. The 2 girls across from us were staring at us, so I asked if they spoke English. They said no, but that's okay because we got the conversation started. They were really cute sisters, one of them named Susanna, 16 years old. And since the "have you ever seen this book?" thing seemed to be working out so well for us, we decided to give it another shot. It didn't fail. In fact, it worked really well, Susanna couldn't believe we wanted to just give the book to her! Then she had to get off the bus (not before we exchanged numbers though, 😉). And just a few hours after initially meeting her, she texted us saying "hey it's Susanna, the girl from the bus! Thank you so much for the book, it's beautiful!" What?!?! We couldn't believe it because usually it's us sending the text that says "hey it's the girl from the bus" hahaha. And then less than 24 hours after meeting her on the bus, she came to have a lesson with us in the church! She had read the whole pamphlet that we left in the book and loved it. She even told us her mom couldn't believe she chose that pamphlet over her phone!!!! This girl is amazing and has so much energy and just loves church and Jesus. She just really has everything figured out and it's really impressive for her age. She said "most kids my age just say they're atheist because it's the cool trend and it's the easier way. But I know that following Christ is going to be the easier way when things get hard!" She's amazing!!!!! We get to see her again tomorrow! 

And I think that's pretty much it for my week! Just loving every minute here in the Great Italy Rome Mission. Yesterday was an amazing Sunday in church, just really spiritually uplifting. There were some amazing talks on prayer and then in gospel principles we talked about The Creation! We read Alma 30:44 "...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." I know that this is true! We meet so many people every day that are atheist and it's hard to hear that over and over again when everything that surrounds us is evidence that God is real and that He loves us so much. I invite you to take a minute this week to appreciate the beauty that surrounds you because God created it just for you so that you could be happy. 🌻🌼🌻

Un abbraccio forte!
XOXO
 
views from our morning run










Sorella Carley Neuberger
Vecchi M.L. , Pieri A.
Via Arapietra 61/5
Pescara, PE 65124
Italia

Monday, November 12, 2018

I lied last week. Mainly because I didn't know how good this week was going to be.

The real best week of my life:

weekly gelato pic
It all started when we were planning for the week. Trying to figure out what goals to set. Frustrated with the amount of finding we were doing with little results, Sorella Liddiard turned to me and asked, "How have you normally found people to teach throughout your mission?" After taking a minute to reflect I responded, "They were miracles. All miracles."  And that, cari amici, is where the idea was born. We made a goal to be miracle worthy and to actively recognize miracles during the day, and pray our hearts out. After establishing a few other plans to go along with that goal, we prayed and got to work. Here are the results. 

Tuesday morning we decided to go finding in the direction of a less active member. We put in her address and started walking, planning to talk to people on the way. After walking a pretty long distance and not seeing anyone, we debated turning back. But we stuck to our plan and went to her house anyways. She wasn't home. We left a note in her mailbox and decided to do some casa in casa.

The first building we went to, very first door in the building, a girl named Giulia opened the door. We got to show her the Grazie a Lui video, explain why we are here as missionaries, and how we want to help her! We left her with a copy of The Book of Mormon! She goes to university in Tuscany and comes back in December for Christmas break and wants to have us over!! 

The second building we went to, the gate was wide open so we walked in without ringing any citofoni. Got rejected hardcore at the first door. (hey that rhymed). There was one other door and we kind of just passed by it because the entrace was a little scary looking but then second-guessed ourselves and went back to ring it anyways, perche no. The door opened up to a husband and wife and a few of their kids that were about our age, maybe older. Turns out this family isn't your typical Italian (or american) family, they have 11 kids. They invited us in without hesitation, had us sit down, got us juice and dolci. (is that what it's like in south america? i'm imagining it is...). I started pinching myself at that point... and that was before they asked to see the video we said we were showing. We had completely forgotten about the video in our state of utter shock. "Oh yeah, the video!" They loved it, the mom had tears by the end and the spirit was tangible. Even the 23 year old atheist daughter was borderline crying. We explained our purpose and they told us we are welcome to come back, keeping in mind that they're catholic and don't intend to change (says every practicing catholic ever). 

That same night we were supposed to meet up with a potential, Silvia. We did. And she brought a friend. (they're both cute 21 year olds that do university in Pescara) We discussed the restoration and left them with copies of The Book of Mormon and they left us with their word they'd read it. 

The next day we had an appointment with a less active family that came to church last week, famiglia Scelzo. For some reason (probably our lack of faith) we kept expecting Sorella Scelzo to call and cancel but she never did. So we went over and got to teach her and her 12 year old daughter (and her 12 year old daughter's friend) about the importance of actually reading The Book of Mormon, we did the letter to your descendants activity. They loved it plus we just really bonded well with them, it was an amazing visit! And we helped the daughter with some of her english homework, she promised me in return that she'd help me with my italian homework in a few months. 

Thursday we had a scambio (easy to plan when you live in the same house as the other sorelle!), I was with Sorella Stutz, her first scambio! And, if you're an active reader of my emails, you know that scambios always bring miracles. Although I got hit with some major stomach sickness, this one was no exception. We spent the morning, again, walking to another less active, since that originally yielded so much success. On the way, we met a girl named Marina who has done the 21 day Book of Mormon challenge! She was like "yeah, I did that and now what do I do?" Perrrrrrfect. We exchanged numbers and have been texting a lot, she has a lot of concerns about life after this, her dad died. And we are so excited to meet up with her this week!

Plus Sorella Stutz and I had 2 lessons with potentials!

First: Sara. We met her on the street in centro and got to meet up with her at the church on Thursday! We gave her a tour of the church and you could just tell she really felt a difference from the catholic church she has frequented most of her life. We taught her about the restoration of Christ's church and she just took it all so well and it just made perfect sense! She had some good questions at the end like what kind of things our church does for the comunity, what does confession look like within our church, etc and we were so happy to answer all of them and invite her to read The Book of Mormon to find more answers! She's been reading it since and really likes it! Only bummer is that she lives kind of far away and comes to Pescara for university. 

Second: Gaia. A potential from before I got her that randomly, out of the blue, texted us during the week asking when we could meet up! MIRACLE. She came to the church, we talked a little bit about the restoration, she knew a little bit of it from previous sorelle, so we watched the restoration film together, I love watching that little video, it is so powerful and definitely helped her better understand Joseph Smith's role in restoring God's authority to the earth! And she accepted and has been keeping the commitment to do the 21 day Book of Mormon challenge!!

On Friday we decided to venture out to another less active, Luisa. We called her a couple weeks ago while calling through the ward list and she said she really wants to come back to church and wants her kids to be raised in the church! They live in Lanciano, so it's a small viaggio for them to get to church but totally doable. Anyways, we met she and her husband and their cute kids: 11 and 9 years old. We did the letter activity with them too and left each of them with their very own copy of The Book of Mormon. This family is SO amazing. They are originally from the Domincan Republic, so it kind of reminded me of being back with Maryori and Cindy. Plus they fed us a huge fish and potatoes pranzo! We invited them to do the 21 day Book of Mormon challenge and have been following up with them. Last night Louisa sent us a text saying, "Hey sorelle, I wanted to tell you we started the challenge as a family. We are on the second day and the kids love it, they're really interested and I just wanted to thank you. I am thankful God sent you to my house and I hope you can help me in this challenge to bring my family to the Lord." Wow. If that's not a miracle then I don't know what is. 

There's more.
Friday night it was our turn to teach the english group out in Chieti. We got there about 10 minutes early and as we walked in, I looked down at the phone to see the time and then said "hey we've got 10 minutes, let's go knock some doors." The area we were in was more house style than normal so we were able to go up to the doors without ringing the citofono. The first door that we went to opened. We met Alessandra and her 2 daughters, Giorgia and Giulia. And it was like a repeat of Tuesday! They invited us in, sat us down, and we were left trying to hold ourselves together and not cry tears of happiness. We showed the Grazie A Lui video which brought the spirit super strongly, then we taught a brief restoration, they loved it, they accepted The Book of Mormon and the invitation to read it, and we can't wait to go back. (to see them and to casa the rest of the zone). 

And more. 
Daniela is doing well, we had a great lesson with her on tithing and fasting but she didn't come to church again this Sunday. (she stayed in Ancona and told the anziani she was going to come and didn't). So with Daniela in Ancona, and Dejanira in Germany on a school trip, Nancy was left at home by herself for the week. We called her a couple times to see how she was doing and told her we were going to bring her brownies. Then on Saturday evening while we were doing studies Sorella Liddiard said, "I just wish we could go visit Nancy tonight and keep her company while teaching her the restoration." And I'm not kidding when I say that less than 5 minutes later the phone rang. It was Nancy. She said "I'll be at your house in 10 minutes to pick you up and then we'll go pick up the pizza, and then we will go to my house." After 'checking our schedule', we obliged. It was a blast. We got to know her better and then watched The Restoration film on their TV, it was incredible. Then after we basically taught the Restoration to her again. She is so so awesome and I know she feels it and knows it's right but we think maybe there is something she is afraid of ? boh. we will keep working on her and have faith in the Lord's will and timing! 

Okay now food miracle, to switch it up before the grand finale. 
Nutellandia. 
While finding last Monday night, Sorella Liddiard and I stumbled across this place. I would say it was less coincidence and more miracle/God leading us there. Cornetti + nutella + chocolate bar + etc, etc etc. wow. And it's owned by this really cute young couple.........they're going to get baptized. 

As for yesterday, it was probably the best sunday of my mission (other than getting up really early because we had to be at the church at 6:15am...). We had stake conference in Rome! Rome 2 is in the stake so it was great getting to see all of the members and catch up with them :))))))) But the real miracle happened Sunday evening. Rewind to Friday night. I called President Pickerd to get permission to stay after stake conference for Gioia's baptism on Sunday (if you remember Gioia from Rome 2!) he gave me the okay, so I called Sorella Decker to let her know and to tell Gioia. She gave me some devastating news saying they had just met with Gioia and, although probably unaware, she was going through the pre-baptism roller coaster of "should I do this or not?". She told Sorella Decker she wanted to wait a little longer. So Sorella Decker told me to have a shot and sent her phone number. It was amazing getting to talk with her and just talk it all out. We had a real heart to heart and although by the end of the phone call, she still wasn't 100% sure, I felt I had given it my all. Fast forward to Saturday night. Sorella Decker calls-- "Did you talk to Gioia? and what did you say because she's going ahead with the baptism!" 
Gioia's baptism was the most special thing I have ever witnessed and I was so fortunate to be able to be there for it. Sorella Yanacallo got to come too! Gioia's mom and dad were both there and you could just tell by the end of the ceremony that they were changed and that they'll likely be the next ones in that font. I'd love to go into details about the whole thing but basically I'll just tell you that when Gioia got up to share her testimony afterwards, I couldn't hold the tears back. The change that has occured within her is miraculous and is only possible when we are truly converted to Christ and His gospel. And no matter what doubts she had beforehand, she got up there and said "I know I made the right decision today, I know it." 

Ah. My heart has never been so full. I know this gospel is true and I love it so much. I am so blessed to be able to witness it changing lives, including my own, during this time. Something said during one of the talks at the baptism yesterday was: "Baptism isn't the destination, it's a point of departure." Baptism isn't the end! What's next is striving for exaltation and eternal life with our Heavenly Father. I know that is possible through our Savior, Jesus Christ, I am so thankful for Him! 
I love being a missionary more than anything. 
Love yall too!

XOXO
 
enjoying Nutellandia






with Nancy

with Gioia, and Sorella Yanacallo

Gioia and her parents

pday at the beach



sand castle of the Rome Temple


Sorella Carley Neuberger
Vecchi M.L. , Pieri A.
Via Arapietra 61/5
Pescara, PE 65124
Italia