With Love From Rome: That's Alotta Pizza

Good Week

We had a really good week in Cagliari this week. Every week has been a good week lately.

The work is really starting to pick up and I've learned a ton this week. We've seen some pretty incredible miracles, and I feel so blessed that the Lord is constantly reminding us that He is aiding us in this work.

Thursday: progress
Thursday we had another lesson with Felice! He is our only progressing investigator, but he is doing so great. We love meeting with him because he is always so happy to see us and is always so willing to hear our message and you can tell that he really is thinking about everything.

He has an open and willing heart, and that's the best thing you could ask for.

We talked about the Plan of Salvation with him and it went really well. He is so in tune with the spirit. We will have a lesson plan in mind, and before we can even introduce the topic he will basically start the lesson for us because his comments lead perfectly into the discussion.

He just gets it.

Friday: Rosella and her Roses
Friday we had another lesson with another English course student named Rosella. She is the best. She has the cutest little apartment that is painted all yellow inside and has all of these Klimt paintings on the walls and this cute little balcony with tons of flowers.

She told us that she loves spending time with the flowers and that she likes to talk to them. Me too Rosella.

We taught her the Restoration and she was really interested. Right now her motives aren't really to know the truth, just to know more about us...but we take any opportunity we get.

She was talking to us about prayer and how she doesn't like to go to Mass or pray in church because she feels prayer should be more private and more of a personal relationship between her and God... Rosella...we agree!

We invited her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and she said she would, so we are excited to see where that takes her.

Saturday: brief discussion
Saturday was also a really good day.. we were treated to a cute, little lunch in Piazza Yenne at the Ristorante Italia where we had typical Sard dishes and I tried horse steak for the first time.

(I try everything here.. if you had told Mom 10 years ago that I'd be eating horse, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. one day, she would have never believed you).

Also we have the FUNNIEST story from Saturday haha. So we are doing some ripassi (pass backs) and we get to this one door and a 16-year-old boy answers and kind of sticks his head out behind the door. It's obvious that he just woke up because his eyes are all sleepy and then he kind of looks embarassed and steps out from behind the door and he is in his navy blue armani underwear.

We are all just standing there shocked and he says "Sorry I'm in my underwear."

Slla. Cojan says, "Your mom said we could come back but maybe at another time."

and he says, "That's probably a good idea."

and as soon as he shuts the door, we had to RUN down the stairs to keep from laughing. Oh Italia.

We laughed the whole rest of the day about this poor 16-year-old who answered the door in his briefs. At the end of the day when Slla Cojan said "We are thankful for our experiences today." in her prayers we just kept laughing. awkward.

Sunday: attendance
Sunday was also THE BEST! because FELICE CAME TO CHURCH! WAHOO! Seriously we were soo happy. He said he had a good experience. There are a lot of things new to him, so we are going to go over and answer more of his questions. But the members were so excited that we had an investigator there and everyone came to say hi. yes yes yes.

Also, we had a less active show up! Her name is Regiane and she is from BRAZIL. She has been living here for about 4 years, but just moved from Iglesias to Cagliari so she could come to church! She is great and we are going to visit her on Friday and help her to become active again.

Then we went to pranzo at the Videdomanis house and he made us these GIANT pizzas. My favorite was the Kebab pizza. (Israel meets Italy). Then we helped to clean up aroud his yard and headed to another member's house for a little FHE.

It was perfect because we spent the whole time talking about the ways they can do missionary work and they are going to reach out to some specific less actives. The Lord is really helping us to get this goal of having 400 active members in Sardegna!

I felt really badly for the elders there, though, because The Floris were just talking about how sister missionaries are so much better then the elders.

Anziano Walker has already been feeling underappreciated as an elder (he has never served with sisters before this transfer and he thinks everyone likes us better), so it didn't help.

Then Anziano Mcintire asked what they could do, and Slla. Floris responded, "Work like the sisters." hah. I felt bad for them because they really are great missionaries, but I also thought it was kind of funny because I know so many RMs that complain about sister missionaries haha.

Monday: Les Mis-treated

Monday we had DDM which is always really uplifting and encouraging.

Then we did some less active search and ran into this guy who kept taking us around this giant piazza to meet all of his friends which was weird but funny hah. Apparently all of his friends want to learn English. Then he asked Sorella Nef out for ice cream hah. sorry.

Then we had FHE with some members and one of the members heard how much I love Les Mis, so he secretly had it playing in the back when we came in haha. It's hard to stay concentrated on your Italian with the 10th anniversary Les Mis cast singing in the background... but it's also the best kind of distraction, hah.

Tuesday: bribery
Tuesday was also really, really great.. one of those days where you come home with so much joy in your heart that you think you couldn't be happier.

We ran by Felice's house in the morning and he wasn't there, so we left him a note and some peanut butter (bribing investigators is kosher... I asked) and just as we were about to leave he shows up! yay!

Then we went to go have lunch at Christina's house, and we had a really incredible time with her. She made us this really great pranzo with mushrooms, rice and gorgonzola cheese.

She was telling us how she just got asked to do this new cooking show in Italy! She deserves it, because she is amazing.

Then she told us all about Sardinian history and pulled out these huge photo books with the coolest film photographs of old Sardinians from the early 1900s and another book with all the beaches of Sardegna, which makes me sad that I can't go to the beach as a missionary... (magari)

Then we had a really touching spiritual thought and moment with her. We all just love her so much, and we are excited to go back and see her again.

Then we did some ex-simp search (ex-investigators,) and no one wanted to meet with us again but we ran into these cute barber shop guys.

One was outside and the other was inside cutting someone's hair and the guy outside yelled, "Giuseppe! come meet the sorelle!"

So he just left his client in the chair and chatted with us for about 5 min. I love Italians.

Week's end: guided

There have just been so many moments this week where I have seen the Lord guiding us in a very direct way. Whether it has been to choose a certain scripture to share with a certain person, or whether it is to talk to someone specific about English course, or whether it is to make us miss the bus and stand in the rain for 15 min. so we can help an old lady without an umbrella... The Lord is guiding us.

There is no greater happiness than knowing that you are doing the will of the Lord. There is no greater joy. Honestly.

Joy

That is what I've learned this week... along with countless others. But the most impressive thing the Lord taught me is that the Gospel brings joy, and because Heavenly Father loves us, he wants us to have that joy in our lives right now.

I love that Heavenly Father has blessed me to love these people, to feel a small part of how he feels for them.

I am grateful he has given me enough love to do the things that are hard for me, like asking someone to repent, or come to church, or make a big sacrifice.. the love that comes from our Heavenly Father gives us strength to do hard things and as we do the things he asks us, he blesses us with more love, faith, and power.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. Today marks my 2-month mark in Cagliari! I love it more and more every day.

With love from Cagliari,
Sorella O'Connor