Bug Bites

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE. I got it and I loved it! Loved all the pictures.  We are going to make the cake at zone conference next week with the Sassari sorelle because Sorella Ruppe's birthday is that week.

Blood Suckers

Just another sweaty & beautiful day here in Cagliari.  

To give you a nice picture of what summer is like, twice this week I have reached to scratch my leg or arm and looked down later to find blood and realize that I had actually killed a bug WHILE it was sucking my blood. Twice. Once while I was sleeping.  Bugs here are vicious.

Busy

The weeks are going by so fast.  We have been really busy, which is great because the second week we literally had NOTHING planned all day every day.  Now it seems that we don't have enough time to do everything that we want.  That is the best feeling as a missionary.  We are being super blessed.  

Just Relax

Also I've been working on just relaxing more and having fun... Weird that I have to work on that, because usually it's the opposite and I'm not responsible enough, but here I just stress myself out so much that I have to remind myself to have fun and not worry so much.  

Just Serve

Grandma sent me a perfect email a couple weeks ago that helped a lot.  She said that so many people tell you to serve so you have no regrets.  "That's stupid because everyone has regrets.  So just serve."  I tell myself that a lot now: Just serve.

I always run out of time and I had to spend a little more writing President this week for scambi reports, so I'll just try to give the highlights this week.

Birthday Shopping

Last pday I used my BELOVED birthday soldi (money) to hit up the Zara saldis (sales).  (I got a CUTE green coat.  Do't be mad that it's summer.  It's like the one we saw at JCrew... originally around 80 euro that I got for 30... and a couple other things. Heaven.)  

When we were checking out I started talking to the ladies at the check-out counter and basically just bore my testimony about being a missionary and the great service that it is.  They were all super touched and we gave them all pass-along cards and they all said they are coming to English Course.  

So If I convert the Zara employees, my mission will have all been worth it.  I think I should be able to use that as an excuse to go shopping on normal days.  It's where I am inspired to do my best missionary work.

Meeting Again

Thursday we met with Maria Rita and Giuseppina again!  It was so good.  Sorella Nef and I planned this big lesson about faith and we really just wanted to break down what was going on and what they were thinking.  

Cokes with Maria Rita and Giuseppina

--each one has a different name on it

So we were expecting that they just want to exchange information to keep in contact when there are transfers and stuff (which is what we heard on the phone).  But they start out by saying "So tell us about tithing and fasting"... what?  Luckily I had been reading in Third Nefi that morning with the Malachi verses in it (3 Nephi 24:8-10), so I was prepared.  

So we talked about that, but we were still confused about the call and dropping us and I was starting to think I had made it all up. So I basically just said, "Lets get real.  What was this call about, are you having doubts? What worries do you have? etc."  Then they were quiet for about a minute and just explained that it just feels too fast and that they want to be baptized with us here, but that they also want to make sure they are really ready to commit. 

THANK HEAVENS. We said, "That is EXACTLY what we WANT you to do too!" 

I would love to be here when they get baptized, but ultimately what I want is for them to be ready and to have a testimony and to be truly converted.  Here in Italy it takes more time that other places just because it is a huge cultural change.  So it went really well and we are starting to meet them again this week!

Scambi

Then we left for Sassari for the forever-long scambi!  It takes from 3-4 hours by train to get there so it feels like a three day trip: half a day to get there, a day there, and half a day back.  But I love the train ride.  There weren't very many people on the train, so of course everyone avoided sitting by the missionaries.  

Sorella Nef and I had some time to gaze out the window at the incredible countryside. Also there was a RAIN storm which was heaven sent (literally.  Sorella Ruppe said they prayed for rain), and we got to see this huge rainbow over the hills. Like a movie.

The scambi was way fun.  It's been so hot that we all decided to sleep out on the deck.   It was BEAUTIFUL because they live in a pretty part of town and we could see the stars and hear all the sounds of Italy.  

Balcony Serenade

Also the second night there was this local band who was singing in Sassarese in the bar under their apartment, so all the Italians were out on their decks listening. It was SO COOL. I have videos of us just dancing on the deck and chatting with the cute neighbor lady from our decks.  

It's also just fun to see a new city.  For some reason, you have a lot more courage to talk to people. Also a couple guys asked Sorella Kippen and I if we would marry them.  So there is that.

Mostra

Saturday and Sunday we did mostras at i giardini publici which is this BEAUTIFUL public garden that overlooks ALL of Cagliari.  Sorella Nef and I decided to try a new approach by asking people if we could do surveys with them, and it has worked really well.  

We had several lessons and gave away several copies of the Book of Mormon to people who rejected us initially by the traditional "HI! We are the Missionaries from..." approach.

Some of my favorite people we met there were the young people. They are so much more open-minded.  We met one guy from Milan here on vacation and he said he used to be really believing, but after his dad died he lost a lot of faith and found comfort in other areas.  

It was cool to talk to him a little and share our testimonies of the Plan of Salvation.  At the end he said, 

"Wow, you guys are really convinced, aren't you?" Yeah. We are.  

We also met this girl here on vacation with a friend who lives here.  She said she is atheist and he said he is a religion but only by tradition, not by belief. We started talking about the Book of Mormon being a testimony of Jesus Christ.  

Science Experiment

I used an example that Taylor shared with me from his mission:  comparing the promise of Moroni to a science experiment.  You have to create a hypothesis, perform the experiment and then record and evaluate the results.  

The same is true with the Book of Mormon:  you read with the intent to know if it's true and to know if Jesus is the Christ, you read the book and pray about it, and then you evaluate the evidences--like the way it has affected your life, the spirit you feel or how your faith has grown. 

She was really impressed by the comparison because usually people consider faith and religion as contrary and I was explaining it as if they supported each other. (Shout-out to Taylor Grey for that one and also Dr. Handley from my Science and Religion class at BYU.)

Park Serenade

This is our 4th and last mostra at this park for a while.  The last 30 min we always spend singing because the sun is setting and it's beautiful and it actually gets people to stop and take information. 

 We have seen little miracles from it.  My favorite "fan" is this cute 4-year-old boy who has been there with his family every time.  He always comes and asks when we will sing.  

The last night we were waiting at the bus stop and his family started walking down the hill.  The mom said that her son was so sad they had left too late to hear us sing.  So we all pulled out our hymn books and sang right there at the bus stop for the little boy.  

Then they made their way home with a Plan of Salvation pamphlet.  I feel like those are some of the most rewarding moments of my mission: small moments where we bring the spirit and help others to open their hearts to hear our message.

Applying the Scriptures
Monday we got 2 new investigators:  a young mom and her daughter (about 14) from English course!  We handed out a little survey asking if people if they had any interest in other free services we offer.  They young girl checked "application of the scriptures in your life personally" (or something similar, the translation to English is kind of awkward).  So we had a sweet lesson with them and they want to know more!  BLESSINGS.

Mission Stories
Yesterday we went to a member's house for a little serrata, which turned into 2 hours of them showing us photos and telling stories from their mission about 10 years ago.  The cool thing about serving here in Italy, and especially Sardegna, is that EVERYONE is a convert.  Literally. 

Everyone has a story.  I love hearing the stories about how people accepted the gospel, or rejected it and then later accepted it. 

I asked Fratello Floris what his favorite thing about serving a mission was.  He said (rough translation) 

"It was realizing how small I am as a person, and then realizing how big I am when the Lord works through me." (It sounds more beautiful in Italian... sorry.)  

But it was the perfect description.  The mission is the most humbling experience ever.  It breaks down all of your walls and brings out all of your faults and insecurities. But all of that makes you rely more heavily on the Lord, and it shows you how present the Lord is in his work with us and with others.  That humbling process allows you to do great things, things far beyond your own power. 

I know I might have been complaining lately about how hard a mission is, and IT IS hard, but it's also the most rewarding experience ever.  Every day I go to bed thinking how lucky I feel to have this experience and to learn the things that I am learning.  

My testimony grows stronger and deeper every day, and I've really learned to apply the principles of the gospel in my life.  I've come to better understand the importance and the reality of the power in simple gospel principles like faith and repentance and charity.  I'm grateful for the perspective it has given me.  

EVERYONE SHOULD GO ON A MISSION. IT'S THE BEST!

WITH LOVE from Cagliari,

Sorella O'Connor

View from the bus 

Leaving Books of Mormon in Mailboxes

and Doors

Piccolo tan line... still working on it. 

I still don't get tan--even in Italy

(Email Sent - August 14, 2013)

Little Miracles Coming Our Way

We have had a busy week here in Cagliari.  Despite not having any investigators, we still find lots of things to do and lots of little miracles coming our way.

Not going to lie, I was pretty sad about Maria Rita. I felt the Lord's comforting spirit and the reassurance that He was still working with her even though we weren't, but at first I didn't really want to accept that comfort.  

 Moses 7:44 -  "And as Enoch saw this, he had bitterness of soul, and wept over his brethren, and said unto the heavens: I will refuse to be comforted but the Lord said unto Enoch: Lift up your heart, and be glad; and look."

I let myself get really down about it... even though I knew we hadn't done anything wrong and even though I kind of knew that Heavenly Father wanted her to have some time to think and recognize the changes she had made since she met us. 

Despite the comfort the Lord was trying to give me, I let myself get really down about it which kept us from working with the Spirit.  I also had some trouble sleeping so I asked the anziani for a blessing.  I still haven't been sleeping well, but after that blessing I felt an immediate change.  

It was like it took away all of the darkness that I let build up inside, and I was excited to get back to work despite the fact that we had no one to teach.

Sardegna from the plane

Perspective

The Capi conference in Rome really helped me.  It helped me to remember the things we had been taught at our Zone conferences and to apply them again.  It also helped me to widen my perspective. 

I've only worked here in Cagliari and we haven't seen a lot of "immediate" success.  When we lost all our investigators, it felt like the end of the world.  

But getting to talk to the other missionaries and getting to see a lot of my friends from the MTC or other missionaries who left Cagliari helped me to see a bigger picture and realize that we are all doing the same work.  

 Also it was a TON of fun. I got to spend the whole PDAY in ROME!

The Colosseum

The Pantheon

Rome Temple Construction Progress

My first experience with a Roman drinking fountain -- 

across from "la chiesa della bocca della verità" DREAMS COME TRUE

It was a dream come true.  I got to see almost everything that I wanted to see.  My favorite was definitely the Trevi fountain. 

A coin in the fountain means you will return to Rome someday

Unreal. I loved loved loved Rome.  Also we got gelato.  Plus the Conference was way fun.  We all stayed the night at the Villa (Apparently its one of the LAST mission homes.  They are trying to get rid of them all and just have apartments like up in Milan)  It was the first ever Capi conference with SISTER MISSIONARIES, so that's pretty cool too.

They were so happy to have us back!

It was a short trip (left Wednesday morning and got back Thursday night), but I was happy to be back in Cagliari.  Felt like coming home.  Since then we have seen some really cool miracles here in Cagliari.  No new investigators... but little miracles that have shown me that the Lord is still guiding us to do his will.

Referral for Fresh Nover
One really cool story happened at the airport on the way back from Capi Conference.  I was way pumped up to do missionary work again, and I was determined to find someone to talk to.  I ended up talking with this lady from HUNGARY about the church and about why we were here as missionaries. 

ALSO she is from the same city where Aimee is serving right now!  I was able to get her contact information and I am sending it to Aimee to go and meet with her and teach her the gospel!  I was so excited about it... she was really nice and seemed really interested.

 She kept saying little things that made me think, "Oh my goodness you are SO ready for this!" like, 

"I don't know why, but I feel like there are some people we are really supposed to meet: people who have a special message for us, and if we take the time to find out what that message is and apply it to our lives we will be blessed for it. No meeting is a coincidence"

... So I'm excited to send Aimee her contact information.

Kaitlin and Fresh Nover - who is serving in Hungary

Planting Seeds...in Oxnard?
I was also able to have a lesson with the man sitting by me on the plane (not from Cagliari) but planted some good seeds with him.  I don't know who I have become... just the kind of person that asks if we can say a prayer with the man sitting next to us on the plane (also he has a strawberry factory in Oxnard California... Ironic right?)

Out of the Way

There have been other little things too.. like one day Sorella Nef and I got ANOTHER referral from Mormon.org, but this lady lives outside of Cagliari.  Turns out the anziani had an appointment in the same city the next day, so they were able to take us!  

She wasn't home and her phone was off, so we decided to do casa in casa.  It was in a gated community and everyone was kind of freaking out, so we thought it best to leave and go try and find a less-active member in the city.  Turned out it wasn't the same city that we thought it was--we were in a little suburb city. So we tried to walk back to the main city and Sorella Nef and I got completely lost and there was absolutely NO ONE around...

 I was joking again about how Heavenly Father sometimes just wants us to get out of the way... but also that whenever we get lost we end up finding someone.  

Then we decided to stop at a tabacheria to get some water and there was a man in the parking lot and he came up to US and starting talking because he used to meet with missionaries in the past! We were able to get his number and pass it to the anziani!  

Contacting the Cat Lady
Then we KEPT walking until we found another little suburb town (remember that its about 40 degrees Celsius /104 F in the middle of the day) and we decided to do some casa in casa again. No one really wanted to listen and then we got to this one house with like 10 different cat beds and bowls of food outside. 

"Yes! a crazy cat lady!"

We rang the doorbell and this cute young girl came out and we introduced ourselves and told her, 

"We have a message about the restored church of Jesus Christ," and she's like, "Okay, dimi (tell me)."

But she didn't seem interested at all... She started filling the cat bowls and we start talking, but she wasn't paying any attention. So we stopped our mini Restoration lesson, and I just start asking her about her cats. 

Turns out she has 22 CATS! 22! and they ALL have names. and she has a dog. 

So we start talking about that and how she got all these cats and why she likes animals so much and how hard it is for her to take care of the cats and then she really started warming up to us. We ended up giving her a Book of Mormon and she seemed excited to read it. 

She said she has NO time to meet with us in the summer (no surprise), but we can come back in the winter.  She said she wants to start reading the Book of Mormon at night. (She seemed like she MEANT it). 

I asked if we could leave her with a prayer, and of course I asked God to bless her cats.  After the prayer, she had little tears in her eyes and she gave us both a big hug and a cheek kiss (it's normal. I love it) and we were on our way.

Run Ins with Romanians
We have seen lots of other little miracles. Like running into members that just need to vent. Or running into tourists and planting seeds. 

I met this cute Romanian family who I had seen a couple times before. They were here on vacation for three weeks and the daughter heard me speaking in English to a Swedish tourist on the bus.  After we got off, I went to talk to them because I had seen them a couple of times before and they had been staring at us on the bus. 

The mom had worked here in Italy for a couple years and the daughter spoke English, so we got to talk to them in both languages, haha.  I gave them a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and told them to look up the missionaries in Romania, and we exchanged emails with the daughter.

We found Harry Potter in the cupboard under the stairs... 

We have a return appointment for tomorrow.

Right Place Right Time
We have been really busy working with less actives too. It stinks because if you look at our numbers you would think that we just sit inside all day and make cookies, but the real satisfaction of being a missionary doesn't come from numbers.  It comes from realizing that the Lord has placed you in the right place at the right time to do HIS will. 

I've learned a lot about the need to be a humble missionary and a humble servant--to not worry about what others think because our numbers are low, despite our work and our desire to find people to teach, and to just realize that I am always on the errand of the Lord... and that He is guiding us to do HIS will. 

He has given me a lot of comfort through prayer and study and small miracles. We are happy missionaries and we are working hard!

ALSO, I almost forgot the best miracle of all. Sorella Nef and I were out getting gelato with a less-active sister, and we got a CALL from MARIA RITA!  She and Giuseppina want to see us on Thursday! 

I didn't even feel surprised when I saw her number calling. It was like Heavenly father was telling me, "I've been trying to tell you ALL this time not to worry about it."  I felt like such a scema.* 
*

But we are really happy to be able to see them. Hopefully we can figure out what's going on and help them with their concerns. She did say she has been reading some things on the church website, so that's really good.  

Thank you for all of your prayers for her. It's really the biggest blessing ever. (Also it was probably good she didn't come to church on Sunday because there was this pazzo ("wild") guy who kept muttering and laughing under his breath behind us in Sunday School).

It's really hot here--like REALLY hot. But we are really excited about our work and we are happy. We have a scambi in Sassari this week,  so we are excited about that too!

Thanks for all of the updates! I love hearing from you. I'm glad you all are enjoying your summer. 

Mom, I'm so jealous you are visiting all the church historic sites and that Kelsey gets to do EFY still. I miss it haha, but I guess a mission in Rome is pretty cool.

With Love from Cagliari,

Sorella OConnor

Good News and (Really) Bad News

 So I literally have NO time today, but I have some really, really good news and some really, really bad news. Lets start with the good news:

Rome-ing

I'M IN ROME! Surprised?! Yeah me too. 

President is having a conference for the leaders in the mission so they flew me and the other two Zone Leaders on the island to Rome for Pday.  We have the meeting tomorrow and then fly back to Sardegna on Friday.  

It has been SO much fun. I wish I had time to send photos. I've gotten to see all the sights that I've been dying to see. We really have the coolest mission. 

Who else gets to say "Oh yeah, I'm just going to fly to Rome for a couple days for a meeting with the mission president."?  Not very many people. 

Island Girl

I realized how "small town" or "small island" I've become serving in Sardegna for 4 1\2 months.. The Assistants were laughing at me because I just kept commenting on how big everything was, how many people there are and how many doors there are to knock.  

I realized the other day that I know so many people in Cagliari that I notice changes of the people on the bus, like who gets a haircut or who gets pregnant or who bought a new pair of shoes. It's perfect timing because I had a really hard past couple of days and this trip to Rome has really helped me to put my mission in perspective and remember that it's not the end of the world when bad things happen... 

the Bad News...

Okay I'll just tell you. I've been trying to work around it because it makes me so sad.  But Marie Rita and Giuseppina dropped us. Out of the blue. So weird. 

We set a baptismal date with them on Tuesday and then we met with Maria Rita on Thursday and she was all hyped.  She was asking us all the things she needs to do to get prepared, and we talked a lot about the covenants of baptism and how to know we have a testimony.  She even told us she has been trying to quit coffee (before we have even taught the Word of Wisdom).

Sunday she came to church 30 min early! She was literally the first person there. She read the talk for Relief Society ahead of time, and she said she cried through it all because it touched her so deeply (These Things I Know).   

She asked for the RS manual and got numbers from a couple members.  We got home that night and Sorella Nef and I were SO happy.  

Giuseppina has been a lot slower but Maria Rita seemed so ready and so excited (she made several comments of finding a Mormon boy to marry who has the same standards).  Then out of no where she called Monday morning and canceled our appointment and said she doesn't think she can accept the religion.  

I was so shocked!  All I could do was tell her how much I loved her and how I understand if she needs time to think.  So she said she is going to call in a couple days.  Sorella Nef and I were on the way to the church, so when we got there we knelt and said a prayer.  It's really hard for us because we have literally no other investigators. 

It's summer, so everyone is gone.  Our ward mission leader is on vacation, English Course in canceled, and Sorella Nef's training is over so we have an additional hour of work time in the 42 degree (107 Fahrenheit) weather.  This was just heartbreaking to add on... but amidst all of that, I felt a huge sense of peace that it's not over with her.  I don't know why.   Even if it's not me that sees her baptized, I know that Heavenly Father is still working with her and teaching with her. 

a Bad Breakup

Even with that peace and reassurance, I still reacted like a teenager who had just gone through a difficult breakup.  That night I laid on our tile floor crying, "Where did I go wrong?" "I gave her everything I had to give!" "I would do ANYTHING to have her back."  Rough. 

Anyways, I am out of time.  Please pray for her. 

Hopefully I'll have more time next week. 

LOVE YOU

WITH LOVE FROM ROME (really this time) 

Sorella O'Connor

(Email Sent - July 31, 2013)

Regina di Cagliari

Reporting here from Cagliari.

Thats right. 6 more weeks here in Cagliari with Sorella Nef!

Just in Case

We were freaking out all week because everyone thought I was leaving, so I got pictures with tons of people and bought all my souvenirs and a suitcase just in case.  

We took these pictures because I thought I was leaving.

 English Course Students

Saturday morning they called us first, which we thought meant there would be changes... so Sorella Waddoups asked how we were feeling... 

and I said, "Nervous" 

and she said, "Well don't be, because you are both staying put.  Now get back to work".  YES. 

 

Bittersweet

It was actually a bittersweet moment.. slightly bitter because I've been here for over 4 months, and it feels like my mission is going so fast.  I want to see so much of Italy and I'm afraid I won't be able to serve all the places I want to serve. (It's true.. I won't.)  

BUT so sweet because I love Cagliari.  I love our investigators and I love the members in the branch.  

Mostra Sunday night and the Secci family came to help!

Plus, since Sorella Nef and I have already been together two transfers in Cagliari, we don't have to figure anything out.  We don't have to get used to anything.  

Power Couple

We can just be a power couple this transfer and get work done.  We are really excited about that. We have both grown so much this last transfer and learned SO much and now we get to apply it to our work here in Cagliari and hopefully see a lot of growth.

 

It felt like such a LONG week this week because we were just waiting to find out what would be happening.  It's really hard to plan when you have no idea where you'll be the next week.  But we saw some pretty cool little miracles this week.

 

We went to go visit this lady named Adele who has met with the missionaries in the past.  We aren't really sure how able she is at comprehending the lessons, but we still felt like we needed to stop by and just say, 'hi."  

Love of God

When we got there she was getting ready for some friends who were coming down to visit her from Sassari.  She invited us in anyways and we were able to have a little lesson with her about the love of God.  She thinks that "God is evil because he sent his son to suffer and what kind of parent would do that.?"  As we explained to her that Heavenly Father sacrificed his son so that we would all have the chance of returning to him, I had a great sense of our Heavenly Father's love for us:

As imperfect as we are and as often as we reject that gift of the atonement, Heavenly Father planned this for us so that we would have the chance to really change and have the true happiness that can only come from accepting the atonement. Jesus Christ loved us enough to submit his will to offer us the same gift.  

As we were teaching her, the friends rang the doorbell!  They came in and we were able to explain to them a little bit about who we were and why we were there.  The mom was SUPER interested in our message, especially about how families can be together forever.  So we gave her the number of the sisters in Sassari, and she said she wants to meet with them!

 

Let us In

Also that night we got to meet with Rita and Paolo.. a couple that we've been trying to meet with since Sorella cojan and I were here together in my first transfer.  They have never been home when we stopped by, but they live close by so we try them often.  BUT THEY WERE HOME and we were able to teach them with their daughter and granddaughter there.  We gave Paolo a Book of Mormon and as we were leaving, he was just flipping through the pages... coolest feeling. Speriamo bene.

 

Friday we had the weirdest day. We got a number of a lady who lives outside of Cagliari, and we set an appointment to meet her on Friday and asked the anziani to drive us there. We get all the way there and she doesn't answer.  We call her and she says, "Oh sorry, I'm not there... I'm, ummm, at my dad's house?"  That's what we like to call a "bidone." (google translate says: "a dud") haha

Why are We Here?

So we were like, "Why are we supposed to be here in Sinnai?" Just then we get a call from the assistants with ANOTHER mormon.org referral! For a lady who lives in Sestu, which we also have to take a car to get to.  

So we thought, "This is it! We need to go find HER!"  

So we call this lady to see if we can drop by and she says, 

"Oh I actually don't have time to meet with you.  I just thought the book would come in the mail." 

So I said, "Okay, we will just be the mailman and come drop it off in your mailbox."  

So that's what we did.  I still have no idea why we were sent all over the place, BUT there is a Book of Mormon somewhere in Sestu sitting on top of a row of mailboxes with a handwritten testimony inside.

 

Faith in Action

Saturday we had a miracle with a less-active we have been working with from Brazil.  She hasn't been able to come to Church because her job just calls her in when they need her, and they usually need her on Sundays.  Right now in Italy it's REALLY hard to find work...especially in Sardegna.  So it's kind of a sticky situation.  

We met with her again on Saturday and we had asked HER to prepare a spiritual thought for US.

She said, "First I have to tell you some good news: Sunday they called me in to work, and at the end of the day I said I had to quit because I can't work Sundays anymore.  The next day I went and saw an old employer and she offered me a steady full-time job where I don't have to work weekends!!!!!!" MIRACLE. 

Then her thought was on faith. Perfect. It's funny, because I wasn't surprised.  It's just like "Of course... of course...Heavenly Father always provides."

 

Pig for Pranzo

Sunday we got to go to Fratello Vicedomanis house for pranzo which was really fun because he got another pig for us.  Also he invited the tourist family that was at church because it was their last week in Sardegna.  

(Quick story:  They are from the United States but the mom is originally from Sardegna.  She met her husband at BYU, and then while she was on her mission he surprised her by learning Italian on cd in his car... cute.  So they have been here for a couple weeks visiting her family) 

It was really funny because the husband and Fratello Vicedomani were exchanging bad companion stories... like really, really bad.  Like the kind of companion who carries a flute with him at all times to play in the street kind-of-bad.  Like shouting, "PENTITEVI, PENTITEVI!" ("repent ye, repent ye") while walking through the public areas kind-of-bad.

 

Help From the Other Side

Monday's miracle was with another referral from mormon.org.  We've been by their house like 20 times and no one is ever there.  The mom was there once, but it was the daughter that had asked for the Book of Mormon.  

This time the mom answered again but invited us in to learn a little more about who we were.  We had an incredible lesson with her.  We started asking about why religion was important in her life, and she told us about how her mom died when she was just a young mother.  She shared how hard it was for her because of their relationship and how she had needed her mother's help.

She talked about how religion helps her to feel close to her mom.  We testified that the Book of Mormon talks about the Plan of Salvation; it tells us where her mom is and how she can get to see her and again and live together as a family.  

She said she really wants to read the book but her poor eyesight makes it impossible.  So we suggested that she read it together with her daughter.  She said that we can come back to talk to her daughter and try to start meeting with them.  

It was such a cool feeling. So often I feel like family members who have passed on are working so hard to get their family members to find us and to accept us. I am often reminded that we are not the only ones doing this work.

 

Lucky Day

Yesterday, however, was the best day of all.  We met with Maria Rita and Giuseppina and they commited to a BAPTISMAL DATE!  August 18th is the lucky day!  They are so ready.  They just don't know how ready they are, so we are going to help them know.  

We wanted to have a lesson where we didn't teach anything new, just a review of everything that we have talked about, and then explain why it's important for them to know, how they can know, and what they will do when they know. 

It was perfect because we were able to clear everything up and see how we can help them develop their faith. The most important thing is that they have a desire to know. That's something that we can never provide.  We can teach all we want and invite all we want and testify all that we want... but if they don't have a desire to know then no real conversion can take place.  That's what we have been working on with them.  We want to make sure they are really converted.  

Truly Converted

We have been working with a lot of less-actives and it's so sad to see how they never really understood the covenant that they were making or the changes they were promising to make.  People who had been baptized without really having that desire to receive the blessings that it brings. Sorella Nef and I have studied a lot about what it means to be converted.. and to really make sure that our hearts are where they need to be. 

Heart in the Right Place

We have learned a lot about how if you don't have your heart in the right place, it doesn't matter if you are doing all the right things... if you are keeping all the commandments. If you don't have that charity, it means nothing. 

Charity, that love for the Savior and love for his children, is the thing that changes you--it was allows you to really be changed. If you have no real desire to accept the gospel, to show faith in Jesus Christ, and to continually repent and change your entire life, then following the commandments will never help you to make those changes. 

We read two talks this week "The Fourth Missionary" and "Following Christ to Victory" and it really put into perspective the importance of making sure that our investigators are making real changes based on real desires and to make sure that as missionaries we are really giving our hearts to the work. 

Never Easy

Missionary work is never easy. never. It's hard work all day all the time.  Sometimes you really don't want to think about leaving the apartment when it's 37 degrees and all your appointments fell through and you know that people are going to reject you for the next 6 hours.  

But... if you go out anyways because you love the Lord and you want to do his work and you want to change your heart to maybe one day enjoy doing those things.. then Heavenly Father is able to change you.  

If you do all those things with a grudge in your heart the whole time... wishing and wanting to be at the beach or back at home or watching a movie... then that sacrifice will make no difference and we will never find the real reward of that sacrifice.

 

I have seen myself change so much. I feel so grateful that Heavenly Father is teaching me every day and changing my nature and helping me to see the purpose of life. 

I have been so much happier on my mission as I've come to know my Heavenly Father better and been able to see that eternal perspective. 

I am grateful to be here in Cagliari doing his work. Im grateful to be taking the small steps to really become converted myself.  I am so grateful for the chance to be an instrument in the Lord's hand... even if I'm not always a very good one.. I'm grateful that he is able to accomplish his work with me anyway.

 

With love from Cagliari,

Sorella O'Connor

. Last district photo with Anziano Ostler! (We are all staying except for him.  We were very surprised about that because this was his first transfer on the Island)

I have a favorite graffiti artist here in Cagliari.  I'm collecting different photos of his work and praying that I find him and teach him the gospel.

 

(Email Sent - July 24, 2013)