Wow. What an insane, hard,
amazing, spiritual week! So Easter Sunday we went to church and the sun
was out and spring was alive and beautiful. Church was only for two hours
so everyone could go home early and make lunch. Yeah... I wish they did
that back at home. We went to S.'s house for lunch. What a feast.
We started off with salatini (little tiny breadsticks that are rolled
like a cinamon roll with bacon inside), salad, torte verde, uova ripiene
(deviled eggs), pasta con frutto del mare (pasta with sea food), water,
strawberrys, and cake. We were stuffed to the brim. She
bought us the hollow chocolate eggs and there was a lindt oven mitt in mine.
The miracle of that appointment was that we met S's son and his
girlfriend. The son was hilarious and we really enjoyed getting to know
him. He said the prayer at the end of the lunch and apparently he hadn't
prayed for over 10 years. S. was so happy and was thanking us for giving
her the precious gift of hearing her son pray. It was so beautiful and
amazing.
We were able to talk with a lot of
investigators we were having problems with and figure out where they are on the
conversion scale. We had to postpone our baptism date with M. because she
still hasn't received her testiomony yet and we haven't taught her everything.
But we were finally able to figure out a way to see her more than once a
week and I'm hoping she'll be baptized soon! We also talked to G. and her
family. At first talking with her was really awkward. But we
finally figured out that she loves the feeling she gets when she talks with us
we were able to help her see that while it is wonderful to just talk and feel
the spirit, we are there to help them come closer to Heavenly Father and to
take steps to becoming members of the church. One thing we've been doing
is baking brownies and bringing them to appointments. The way to
conversion in a person's mind is through their mouth with brownies... ok that's
one of the ways but it's been really fun!
So this week was when the exhaustion
and anxiety of my training transfers finally caught up with me. We slowed
a ton and I spent a lot of time on my knees praying and napping. I'm
doing much better now because I've finally learned some of these lessons:
1) Complexity doesn't help
anything. I'm practicing now to live as simply as I can. What
a relief and a breath of fresh air it is to focus on one task at a time.
We have agency and I choose to live simply.
2) Sorella Gjika was very
patient and loving this whole week. Love truly is the healing balm.
It is our purpose to fill our souls with love. If we are filled
with love, that is what brings people to the Gospel. I'm learning how to
cut myself slack, cut others slack, and how to be patient when the people in
Italy just want to feed us and basta (that's it) instead of listening to our
message.
3) The only stable secure
thing in this world is the Gospel. I never understood what it meant to
build a foundation in Christ. My life has always been built on food,
sleep, music, and family and friends and the church. I understand now
that our Heavenly Father is always there for us with His arms wide open and has
never ending amounts of patience and love for us. Because He is always
there, when we construct the foundation of our entire lives, souls and missions
on His teachings, that is how we become anchored against the storms of this
life.
There is a mormon message from D.
Todd Christofferson about a man who was pruining a current bush. When he
cut the bush a drop of dew fell from the bush. The farmer thought that
the current bush seemed to say, "Why are you cutting me down? I was
growing so tall and wide. Now you have pruned me down to nothing."
The farmer had this thought back,"Listen current bush. You
were growing but you were not producing fruit. I want you to be a current
bush and produce currents. Not an overgrown bush that produces
nothing." This has been the theme of my mission. There have
been so many experiences where it's felt like Heavenly Father has cut me down
to my very core through the trials and tribulations of the mission. And
then the thought comes to mind, "Listen Sorella. I'm your Father and
I know what I want you to be. I don't want you to be a fluffy missionary who
spouts long phrases of Italian and has a hundred baptisms in a month. I
want you to bear testimony of me and fulfill your simple purpose which is to
invite others to come unto Christ." Food for thought. Sorry if
that doesn't make much sense... it's a bit of stream of conciousness but it is
a small part of what I'm learning here in beautiful Savona,Italy.
Love you all and thank you for the
letters, cards, loves, support, prayers and everything! Buona Settimana
Tutti!
The scripture for this week is John
3:16
The phrase for this week is
Pasqualina... the holiday of the day after Easter... simply beacuase it is hte
day after easter... yeah the Italians know how to party!
The challenge of the week... and our
lives: Build our foundations on Christ.
Sorella Hatch
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