Buongiorno a tutti! I can hardly believe that this week will be my last one as a missionary. What in the world. It still just seems so surreal to me. These last few weeks have just flown by, I can't believe we're here at the end. I have a few more days here in Crotone, then on Friday Sorella Puzey and I will leave for Pozzuoli where we will spend the weekend. Then next monday I will head up to Rome! Which means I probably won't get a chance to write next week because we will spend the day traveling.
As my mission has been coming to a close I have been thinking a lot about these past 18 months, and this week I wanted to share two experiences that we had that describe why I have loved being a missionary so much. The first was a little experience we had with a less active this week. We were out one morning when a random thought popped in my head that we should give her a call and ask her if we could come see her. We were near the store where we normally visit her while she works, so I figured it wouldn't hurt just to call. She told us that she was really busy that morning, but that she could give us about 10 minutes if we wanted to come pass by. I'll be honest, I was a little confused about why I felt like I needed to call her if she was so busy and didn't have a lot of time to see us, but we went anyway. As we were walking over we decided we were going to show her a mormon message by president uchtdorf that talks about our individual worth. She absolutely loved it. After we watched it together she told us that earlier that morning she had woken up feeling terrible. She was overwhelmed by all that she had to do, and she didn't feel adequate to do it all. She told us that she said a prayer, asking for Heavenly Father to help her to get through the day. As we watched the video together she said that she knew that it was an answer to her prayer and that Heavenly Father sent us to her because He was aware of her. I feel so blessed that throughout my mission I have had the opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to help others draw closer unto Him.
The other experience I wanted to share was one we had with Joy the other day. We have taught her the restoration, the plan of salvation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, so we wanted to do a little bit of follow up on everything before moving on. As we were talking to her about her thoughts and feelings about everything the conversation was turned towards Joseph Smith. We asked her if she believed that he was a true prophet and if the church was true. She smiled at us and said yes, I believe. Every time that I come here I have so much joy and happiness. I feel good when I am here. My friends try to tell me that this is not a true church, and I tell them that when I come here I feel joy. That means that it is good and it is true. As a missionary I have loved seeing the pure happiness that the gospel brings in others lives. I know that when we live the principles of the gospel it truly does bring us peace and happiness. I know that because I have seen it in the lives of people here, but also because I have felt it myself. As a missionary I have loved seeing the pure joy that the gospel can bring.
And the best part about these things is that they don't have to end! In a few weeks I may not be wearing a tag, but I will still be able to be an instrument in the Lord's had to spread the joy of the gospel to others. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to serve the Lord for this past 18 months in Italy. I am so grateful for each of you and for your constant love, support, and prayers. I can't thank you all enough for all you have done for me throughout my mission.
I love you all so much! See you soon!
Sorella Marsh
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