Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Rest with Them

A picture of happiness.
District meeting!
Cari Tutti,
This week was such a great week. Bologna is doing well. Rain some days and sun some others. I'm so excited for spring to come!!

This week was so full of miracles! God is amazing and can truly make amazing things happen. This week I noticed how God is always there, even in the tiniest little ways. As Helena always says, "È lo spirito" or It's the Spirit. She always gives credit to the Spirit. No matter what it is!! Even in the toughest of situations she always praises God. And it's so true. We are always guided and blessed in our lives because of the spirit.

This week we saw Gilda. I don't know exactly how much I've told you about her. We found her before Christmas and have been teaching her since then. She can't read because of her eye sight, except when we're there with the larger words on the iPad. We did find a member though who is willing to read with her and speaks Romanian. Well she has always told us that she doesn't want to come to church because she just has no desire to go. She has been about 4 years ago when she met with the missionaries for the first time and she just didn't have any desire to go back. She said she never goes in any church. Well we've been praying and teaching her different things. And she has prayed and knows that what we teach is true. One of the lessons that we still needed to teach was the Word of Wisdom. She always knew that we don't smoke or drink and the missionaries tried to help her quit last time but she never wanted to. She said because of their insistence she actually wanted to smoke more. She says she has tried to stop smoking in the past because she knows she should, but she has never been able to. Well we invited her to pray about it to get the DESIRE to stop and the next time we came she said she did and she felt something different than she's ever felt before. She felt a change. She actually wants to stop smoking and is doing a fast to stop smoking! It's like she had this shell over her heart that is finally starting to crack so the spirit can enter. And then after that lesson she committed to come to church! She actually said she would and she did!!! It was for about a half an hour because she got lost, and then had to go help her daughter, but she came!! 
   I know these are really small things, but they are also huge blessings. Huge steps and changes after hardly any progress at all. 

Another small miracle and a way we were led by the spirit was on Monday. As a mission we are meeting with members and challenging them to find a family in their neighborhood and then also taking that challenge us to find someone in their neighborhood. We made that challenge and then finally on Monday we had time to go to the area to do some finding. We did casa and were able to show the new Easter video!! It's so great! So we ring this door and the girl who answers says she's Atheist, but she invites us in anyway. We actually don't even end up showing the video because she was talking about other things and then we end up teaching the whole restoration! Crazy! This was the first time Sorella Albos has actually gotten in doing casa, so that was a miracle. And ending up teaching the restoration to an atheist! During the whole lesson and with the questions that she was asking it was amazing to see how the restoration can truly answer all questions. We weren't planning on teaching it, it just happened because of the questions she was asking. We would teach a point, she would ask a question and it would lead right into the next point! We are so blessed to have the knowledge that we do of the truth. It's interesting to hear what people think and the ideas they try to come up with to explain things. And we don't have to worry about that because we know the reason! She thought what we said was interesting and was pretty open. So we're hoping to go back and help explain more. 
Actually in that area there are a lot of younger people who were open to hear our message. A lot are students since there is a University here. And a lot are atheist. but they were still nice and let us talk a bit with them! 

I love seeing how God puts us in the exact spot that he needs US. On the bus Sorella Albos and I usually split up so we can talk to more people. And we always end up talking to the perfect people just for us! Like one time I started talking to this lady and she has been to the United States so that was an easy conversation starter and then we got talking about Mormons and how she has friends who are Mormon and how they are really good people. And then there's Sorella Albos over there talking to and being best friends with a Filipino lady who said we can come over to share our message! :) I love it!

A great scripture that I read this week was D&C 15:6
"And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen."

So section 15 and 16 are exactly the same and I read both of them one morning. And it's a good thing they say the same things because I didn't catch something amazing until section 16! I noticed the "That you may rest with them" part. This work of salvation is definitely to help others gain salvation so they can return to live with God again. But we are also helping others and gaining relationships with them so WE can be with them again too! I love it! It also mentions this in D&C 18:15
"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"
It just makes the work something so much more personal. It really makes me think of Love. Am I serving and doing this work because I truly LOVE them and want to be with them again? Am I willing to do whatever it takes for that person, that family, or those people so we can all enjoy eternal life together?


I hope everyone has a great week! Tomorrow we have the opportunity to hear from Elder Christofferson who's coming to Italy! We get to have a missionary conference with him!

Remember "È lo spirito!" And keep Helena in your prayers because she's in a tough situation right now and has to pack and be out of her house in 10 days. All while being in a wheelchair! But she knows God will help her and so do we. But extra prayers wouldn't hurt :)

Vi voglio un sacco di bene!!!
Love,
Sorella Dixon



"Helena's baptism certificate"

"WebEx! The blessings of iPads.
We can have missionary meetings with our pres.
in our cities online"


"Another yummy lunch"


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