OH MY GOSH SONN IS A MISSIONARY! I am literally in tears over here in this random internet point just at the thought of it. Haha these people probably think I'm crazy. But I can't help it, I am just too excited! Yay sonn! Can't wait until you are on this side of the pond with me :) love you so much and I am so proud of you!
Well as for life over here in Pozzuoli things are about to be switched up again! For starters I am actually writing you guys from Battipaglia! Don't worry, I didn't get transfered or anything. I will just be staying here for the next few days until my new companion arrives. I said goodbye to sorella baker this morning as we sent her off on the train up to Rome. Sorella Baker has been an awesome companion and such a strong missionary and I have loved serving with her. As for my new companion...you guys may know her...I will be serving with Sorella Anderson! She was down in Palermo with me for my last transfer! She was the cute blonde one if you remember any of the pictures. So she will be following me up here! She is such a sweet girl and an awesome missionary, I am really excited to serve with her.
As for our week in Pozzuoli it was a pretty crazy one! We had pretty full-filled days getting everything taken care of before Sorella Baker had to leave. We got to see a lot of the members, which means lots of meal appointments, which is just fine by me :) haha but we also saw a lot of our investigators, new converts, and less actives as well. It was a crazy week but a great one as well!
We had one appointment with Amalia this week, which went really well. We got one of our members, sorella romano, to come with us and we did a lesson about fasting. Sorella Romano bore such a strong testimony about the power of fasting, it was incredible. In the end she agreed to do a fast with us so she could receive the strength to live the word of wisdom, help with her kids, and to recognize her testimony. Unfortunately a few days later she called and cancelled our appointment, and because I am in Battipaglia this week that means that we wont have time to teach her all the lessons before her baptismal date. So we are going to have to talk with her about setting a new date and what we can do to get her there. I'll be honest it was a pretty heartbreaking experience. Having to accept other people's free agency is a pretty hard lesson to learn as a missionary. Please keep her in your prayers this week. She knows the church is true, she just needs a little help getting the courage to make a commitment to change.
Massimo is doing well! We were only able to meet with him once this week as well, but it was a really great lesson. We were able to have a member at that lesson as well, which really makes such a huge difference. He had A TON of questions, which made it a little bit hard at the beginning to try to take direction in the lesson, but eventually we were able to tell him that we wanted to explain the beginning of our church to him and we were able to teach the restoration. It went so well! He agreed with everything we taught, and loved the idea of Joseph Smith recieving an answer to his prayer. He is already reading in the Book of Mormon and in the Ensign so we are thrilled about that. He got sick towards the end of the week so we had to cancel our other appointment, but we should be seeing him at the end of this week when I get back to Pozzuoli.
Antonio became an official investigator this week! We were able to sit down and talk with him about our purpose as missionaries, explained that there are certain lessons we teach, and stuff like that. He said he would be interested in taking the lessons so there you have it! We told him that our purpose as missionaries was to help people come unto christ and in the end to prepare to be baptized. So we gave him a baptismal invite and he accepted! So we are really excited to continue working with him as well.
We also got to she Shirley this week! Which was great because we dont get to see her very often. I dont remember if i told you about her last week....so we'll do a quick sum up. Shirley is from the philipeans. She lives in pozzuoli but was working up in rome for the summer. But now she is back! we met with her this week and her daughter melody. They are so great. Shirley was feeling pretty sick so we just decided to watch the restoration film with her, but she and melody absolutely loved it. At the end they both agreed to read the book of mormon and pray to know if it was true! Lots of exciting stuff happening over here :)
We are also seeing great progress with our less active Rina. You guys....for the first time in 20ish years she came to church! she actually did it! she couldnt stay the whole time but she came! So incredible. We also taught her the word of wisdom this week and she is starting to make some huge changes. She has decreased how much she smokes and is starting to drink orzo in the morning instead of coffee. Can you believe that?! It is such an incredible thing to see how much of a change is happening in her life. I absolutely love it.
Okay one more highlight from the week. One of the members we got to go see was Lucia, she is diagnosed with cancer. She leaves this week for Genova to get a bone marrow transplant and her daughter will be the doner. So we went over to their house this week so the anziani could give each of them a blessing. First of all it was just incredible because she is a rock. Seriously the most amazing woman. She is the only member in her family and before she got the blessing she bore her testimony to her kids about how the most precious thing they could ever receive in life is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was such a powerful moment. Then the spirit was so strong during the blessings, it was an incredible experience to be a part of. It made me think back to all the blessings I have recieved from dad, and also my blessing from grandfather when I was set apart. It was such a tender mercy to have that experiece to be reminded of all the people who love and support me back home. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and the blessing it is in my life.
Well I think its just about time to wrap this one up! I love you guys so much and I am so grateful for all that you do for me. Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers. Just think - pretty soon we are going to have to marsh missionaries out in the field! what could be greater. love you all so much. thanks for everything!
sorella marsh
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