Sorella Steph Serving Italian Style: March 2, 2015

Carissimi Miei,

Happy March! So great to hear from you all this week :) I can't believe that the twins get baptized this weekend! I am so thrilled! Can't wait to see all the pictures. Give them a hug for me and tell them tanti auguri.

Well crazy news of the week on my end...I'm staying in Rome!! The Lord has decided to bless me with another transfer in Rome 1 with Sorella Jones as my companion! Not quite sure what we did to break the mold, but I am so stoked about it. Haha I absolutely love it here in Rome and I love working with Sorella Jones and I am so excited to see what this next transfer has in store for us. So here we go!

This week was a great one for us. We had our zone conference and it went really well! The theme of the whole conference was faith, and the training that sorella clyde and i did was specifically on having enough faith to see miracles. It was a really great conference. It's always great to be reminded of the basics every once in a while and what we can do to apply them more in our work. So we've got a lot of goals set and we're excited to see what will come from them. Also quick shout out to the meadows ward young women! i got their cutest candy gram while we were at the office -- tell them i say thank you so much! nothing beats american candy :)

All of our people are doing great. This week we met with Rosa and Mauro to say goodbye to Rosa before she leaves for Ecuador. The lesson wasn't very long, but the spirit was so strong. The just each talked about how they have seen a difference in their lives and in their home since we have been coming to visit with them and how the gospel really is making a difference in their family. It was really beautiful. Hopefully we will still be able to meet with Mauro frequently while Rosa is gone.

This week we were also able to visit with Anna. You guys...she prayed!! She said she didn't feel anything while she was doing it, but she tried! We still have a long ways to go, but it was so incredible to see how she is already making these little changes. This week we kinda went back a few steps and just did a lesson about God, and the Holy Ghost. We wanted to help her understand who God is and how to recognize the spirit. Working with Anna is very different from any of the other people I have worked with on my mission. We have to go very slowly and because she has gone for so long without believing in God very often she doesnt agree with what we say. But as we spoke about the spirit she couldn't deny what she had felt. It was a very powerful moment. So we are continuing to move forward :)

Leonardo is doing great! We are starting to do his post-baptism lessons and this week we talked about partaking of the sacrament and coming to church everyweek. He agreed to continue coming to church each week, and sure enough he was there sunday morning! He even came by himself - ala will be out of town for the next few weeks. He's the greatest.

We also met with our miracle new convert moses this week! He is so great. He is 19 years old and was living in sweeden, but decided to move to italy so he could work here and support his family. He has such a powerful testimony. He loves the Book of Mormon and believes that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Unfortunately because he lost contact with the church when he moved to Italy he started going to another church, so he has some commitments there. But with time we are hoping to help him strengthen his testimony of the restoration.

This week we also did some great member missionary work. The members here seriously are incredible. We had two members this week approach us and ask us if we would be willing to come to their homes and talk to their friends about the gospel. So we are excited to see what happens there in the next few weeks!

So things are going well over here :) we've got lots of work to do and I am so grateful that I get to do it for 6 more weeks! I love you all so much and I am grateful for each of you. Until next week!

sorella marsh

Service Opportunites! pranzo time with the scotchi's