Written 4-9-14
Ciao Tutti!
Wow so much stuff has happened this
week it's insane.
First Transfers. So the
suspense of transfers was insane. We finally got a call... Sorella
Bennett went off to Pisa. Yes as in the leaning tower of Pisa Pisa.
So excited for her. I went to Genova and stayed with the beautiful
Sorella McCann and bade farewell to the sisters going home. It was so
bittersweet to say goodbye but I am so grateful that we will see everyone we
know on this earth again when we are in Heaven. After helping Sorella
McCann clean her apartment, I met my beautiful new companion. Her name is
Sorella Gjika. She's about 5 foot 2... maybe shorter. She's from
Albania and we have laughed since we met. We became immediate friends and
I could not ask for a better companion. She speaks English, Italian and
Albanian which is such a blessing for this area because there are tons of
Albanians in Savona. She loves to eat healthy so we're switching to
salads and healthy snacks and less pasta. Hopefully my pre mission
fitness level will return.
So we've had so many miracles this
week.
First our investigator A. and his
girlfriend M. So we would teach A. then he would drop off the face of the
planet and we wouldn't be able to contact him for weeks. Then we would
get an appointment and the cycle would repeat. However before Sorella
Bennett left we had an appointment to say goodbye. I figured that would
be the last time for weeks. Nope. The next day as we were dragging
Sorella Gjika's luggage back to the apartment, I round a corner and there they
are. A. walked right up to me and immediately asked when our next
appointment was. I was so shocked and happy at the same time. What
a beautiful miracle. Our appointment is this week and I'm hoping they'll
both really start progressing.
This same thing happened with our
investigator F. We stopped at her house and after weeks of not seeing
her, not only was she there but we scheduled an appointment and left her with a
scripture. We had dropped her as an investigator a week earlier because
we couldn't get in touch with her. Well we had a lesson and committed her
to baptism at that lesson. She wants to be baptized and follow God.
We're trying to find a way to help her come to church and keep that
commitment. But that baptismal date is a major victory!
Our other baptismal date M. We
stopped by and I could tell that she was having a really rough time.
Through the power of inspired questions... yes they do work... we were
able to discover that she has tons of confusion and worry. She wants to
sincerely find out for herself is the church is true but she just hasn't
received her answer yet. We spent an hour talking about the spirit and
how we receive answers. Then Sorella Gjika asked her if we could pray
with her and we had her ask if the church was true. She said the most
beautiful prayer in spanish and... through the amazing blessing of the gift of
tongues... I understood most of it. It was one of the most humble prayers
I've ever heard. She sincerely pleaded with our Heavenly Father.
Then she stopped talking and just continued praying. The spirit was
so strong. Sorella Gjika and I sat there praying for that she would
receive her answer and feel comforted. Well after we prayed, I felt
prompted to invite her to come with us right then to watch General Conference
at the church. she was hesitant and we reassured her that she could leave
if she wanted to. Luckily her house was only 5 minutes from the church.
She stayed the entire session and said she liked what the speakers said.
It was amazing.
Finally. We got a call from S.
that her daughter was in the hospital and wanted to see us. Both of them
were having a really rough time and needed some cheering up. So we bought
tickets, literally ran onto the bus and then for some reason I don't know why,
the bus driver left us at the top of this hill and announced that he was done
for the night. Luckily I knew where we were because Sorella Bennett and I
had biked in that area before. We weren't sure if we should walk to the
hospital, wait for the next bus that wasn't secure or go to the station and try
and catch another bus. We prayed decided to wait. Luckily the next
bus came and we got to the hospital. S. was so happy to see us. We
chatted for a while and then we really had to go because we were already late
for being home at night. Well we realized that we had accidentally lost
track of time and that there weren't any more buses running. I thought we
were miles away from home and we weren't sure what to do. We started
walking and using the map. Well after a while I realized we were right by
down town Savona. We found the fortress and then literally ran home.
We made it with literally a minute to spare. While it was slightly
nerve wracking it was also tons of fun running through the streets of Savona in
the cool spring evening air with a little drizzle of rain.
So the principle in all of this is
that God answers prayers. When we ask him how He wants us to conduct our
lives He will help us. Either He will say yes, He will say no or He will
say it's up to us. Other times He will wait for us to make a decision and
then guide our path.
Life is so much better now.
The days seem to float by filled with laughter, tears, the spirit, sweat
and tons of hard work.
The word for this week is Albanian:
Te dua. (Tuh-doo-uh). It means I love you in the romantic
sense. But I thought it was cool.
Ciao!
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