Ciao, tutti!
Everything's going great here in Prato. I'm really excited to be here another transfer. We met with Dielle this week, and she is very sincere about her desire to want to learn more and commit herself. We're really excited. We're working on getting her moving towards baptism. We made a baptismal calendar for her, with all the lessons we need to teach and when we need to teach them. We have a date picked out for her. She doesn't know it yet, but she will soon!Saturday we went to a Nigerian wedding! It was the sister of some members in the branch. It was awesome! Most of the stories definitely won't be as good over email as they will be in person, so I'll have to tell you all when I get back, but needless to say, I spent most of the time crying because I was laughing so hard. We also got Nigerian tribal bracelets from our friend Austin, and investigator of the Elders. And Moses, a member in the branch is going to give us Nigerian tribal names on Friday. So basically, we're more or less Nigerian. Saturday we had a great lesson with Nertil, and he told us that his sister wants to get baptized!!!! She's been meeting with the sisters up in Modena since he took her to church a couple weeks ago, and she knows this Church is true and is ready to get baptized! Nertil got the Priesthood Sunday, so he'll be able to perform the baptism. It will be such a beautiful experience. Last night Nertil taught us the Plan of Salvation and did a fantastic job. We invited him to invite his aunt and uncle to come to church. As we probably could have guessed, he said that he had already invited them. He keeps committments before we even extend them! He then told us how he does missionary work whenever he can. He told all his colleagues at work about the Church and how happy it's made him. He has told all his cousins and aunts and uncles and invited them all to church. He talks to random people on the train and bus. He's such a great missionary!So we haven't been able to find our investigator Nicola for about 2 weeks. We go to the park where we met him frequently, and he's never been there. Sunday we were at the bus stop waiting to go visit someone, and I had a distinct impression that we should go visit a contact on the other side of town. It didn't make any sense, but we went anyways. No one was home, so then it really didn't make sense. We only had a little bit of time before we had to meet the elders, so we decided to do some house in the area. Again, no one answered the door, so I was starting to wonder what we were doing in this area. Just then, a man was riding towards us on his bike, and he stopped and said hi. It was Nicola! We got his number and were able to set up an appointment with him. I love seeing the Lord's hand in this work. He always guides us where we need to be. It's just up to us to listen to those promptings. We have a great new investigator named Vera! She's an ex-investigator and is super cute! She is from Albania, like most of our investigators here. She has an adorable little boy who's 2 and she's pregnant with another boy. Her husband isn't super interested right now, but we're working on that. We have another appointment with her tomorrow, which we're really excited about. I love this work so much. It truly is the Lord's work. I am just grateful that he lets us be part of it. He is always there for us, ready to guide us. We just have to choose to listen.
Vi voglio bene!
Sorella Hawkey
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
July 15, 2009
Ciao, tutti!
I'm staying another transfer in Prato! I'm really excited! I love it here, and I'm not ready to leave. The branch is amazing, and I love the people we're working with. We've been doing a lot of finding work lately and have some really good contacts! On lady let us in right as the Jehovah's Witness' were leaving, and she asked us great questions and wants us to come back when here husband and kids are home! She's really sweet, and we're excited for her. Sorella Lombardo is doing well. We're working on getting her ready to go to the Temple. She expressed a desire a few weeks ago to go one day, so everything we teach her is centered on the Temple. Every time we go over to clean her house, she spends almost the whole 2 or 3 hours reading the Book of Mormon! She says she reads every day. She's been so much happier as she is keeping the commandments and doing what she's supposed to.Saturday we had Nertil teach us the first lesson. It was SO good! He used tons of scriptures and taught so well. His sister has been reading the Book of Mormon since she went to church 2 weeks ago and is asking Nertil lots of questions. He's so excited to be doing missionary work! Last night we had an appointment with him, and as we were starting, he had this really guilty look on his face. He said, “Sisters, I'm sorry, but I ripped a page out of my Book of Mormon.” We asked what happened, and he said that a few nights before, he was at the station waiting for his train and reading the Book of Mormon. There was a man sitting next to him, so he started teaching this man about the Church. He was inviting him to church right as his train pulled up, and he didn't have anything to write down the address or phone number of the missionaries, so he didn't know what to do. Then he realized that on the blank page at the very front of the Book of Mormon was a sticker with our phone number and the church's address, so he ripped it out and gave it to him as he was getting on the train. He said he felt really bad about ripping the Book of Mormon, but we assured him that it was to do missionary work and that everything was ok. The elders had a baptism this weekend, which was wonderful. I love baptisms so much! Nertil gave an amazing talk! He was so nervous to speak, but he did an amazing job. He's going to be such a great missionary. He's been asking tons of questions about missions lately, and you can tell he's thinking about it. We haven't really been able to figure out what to do with Dielle. Over the last few weeks, we've had 4 different appointments set up, but she hasn't been at either of them. She isn't really progressing, and it's really hard to know how to help her. We decided to drop her for the time being, but wrote her a letter explaining our purpose as missionaries and that we know she's having a hard time in her life, but the restored Gospel will help her more than anything else possibly can. We told her that we want to help her, but she has to be willing to do her part, to read the Book of Mormon, to pray, and to come to church with the intent to learn. Then we told her to call us when she was ready to make these committments. About a week later, we got a phone call from her! She thanked us for the letter and asked if we could set up an appointment! We're going over tomorrow morning, so we're hoping things go well. I love Dielle so much and don't want to lose her!I hope everyone is doing well. I have a huge favor to ask all of you. I was wondering if you could write me and tell me what the Gospel means to you and how it has blessed your life. We're working on a little project, and that would be awesome if you guys get a couple minutes to write! Sorellahawkey@myldsmail.net.
Thanks!!!!
Vi voglio tanto bene!Sorella Hawkey
I'm staying another transfer in Prato! I'm really excited! I love it here, and I'm not ready to leave. The branch is amazing, and I love the people we're working with. We've been doing a lot of finding work lately and have some really good contacts! On lady let us in right as the Jehovah's Witness' were leaving, and she asked us great questions and wants us to come back when here husband and kids are home! She's really sweet, and we're excited for her. Sorella Lombardo is doing well. We're working on getting her ready to go to the Temple. She expressed a desire a few weeks ago to go one day, so everything we teach her is centered on the Temple. Every time we go over to clean her house, she spends almost the whole 2 or 3 hours reading the Book of Mormon! She says she reads every day. She's been so much happier as she is keeping the commandments and doing what she's supposed to.Saturday we had Nertil teach us the first lesson. It was SO good! He used tons of scriptures and taught so well. His sister has been reading the Book of Mormon since she went to church 2 weeks ago and is asking Nertil lots of questions. He's so excited to be doing missionary work! Last night we had an appointment with him, and as we were starting, he had this really guilty look on his face. He said, “Sisters, I'm sorry, but I ripped a page out of my Book of Mormon.” We asked what happened, and he said that a few nights before, he was at the station waiting for his train and reading the Book of Mormon. There was a man sitting next to him, so he started teaching this man about the Church. He was inviting him to church right as his train pulled up, and he didn't have anything to write down the address or phone number of the missionaries, so he didn't know what to do. Then he realized that on the blank page at the very front of the Book of Mormon was a sticker with our phone number and the church's address, so he ripped it out and gave it to him as he was getting on the train. He said he felt really bad about ripping the Book of Mormon, but we assured him that it was to do missionary work and that everything was ok. The elders had a baptism this weekend, which was wonderful. I love baptisms so much! Nertil gave an amazing talk! He was so nervous to speak, but he did an amazing job. He's going to be such a great missionary. He's been asking tons of questions about missions lately, and you can tell he's thinking about it. We haven't really been able to figure out what to do with Dielle. Over the last few weeks, we've had 4 different appointments set up, but she hasn't been at either of them. She isn't really progressing, and it's really hard to know how to help her. We decided to drop her for the time being, but wrote her a letter explaining our purpose as missionaries and that we know she's having a hard time in her life, but the restored Gospel will help her more than anything else possibly can. We told her that we want to help her, but she has to be willing to do her part, to read the Book of Mormon, to pray, and to come to church with the intent to learn. Then we told her to call us when she was ready to make these committments. About a week later, we got a phone call from her! She thanked us for the letter and asked if we could set up an appointment! We're going over tomorrow morning, so we're hoping things go well. I love Dielle so much and don't want to lose her!I hope everyone is doing well. I have a huge favor to ask all of you. I was wondering if you could write me and tell me what the Gospel means to you and how it has blessed your life. We're working on a little project, and that would be awesome if you guys get a couple minutes to write! Sorellahawkey@myldsmail.net.
Thanks!!!!
Vi voglio tanto bene!Sorella Hawkey
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
July 8, 2009
Siena
Ciao!
Another great week in Prato! We have a new investigator named Nicola. He's from Albania and has been in Italy for 12 years. His wife is still in Albania. We met him a couple days ago at the park. He's Muslim, but has never been practicing. He's having a really hard time in his life right now, which has really humbled him and prepared him to learn more about the Gospel. We've only met with him once, but are excited to keep working with him.
Nertil is doing great, as usual! He went up to northern Italy last weekend, where his family lives, to take his sister a Book of Mormon and take her to Church! She loved church and talked to the sister missionaries there for a long time. We taught him about Temples last week, and he got super excited when he found out that he can do genealogy and do work for his ancestors! He really wants to get baptized for his grandpa. He's amazing! He teaches me way more than I teach him and I am inspired by his example.
The work is going well. The Gospel is amazing! I'm so grateful to be here.
Vi voglio tanto bene!
Sorella Hawkey
Ciao!
Another great week in Prato! We have a new investigator named Nicola. He's from Albania and has been in Italy for 12 years. His wife is still in Albania. We met him a couple days ago at the park. He's Muslim, but has never been practicing. He's having a really hard time in his life right now, which has really humbled him and prepared him to learn more about the Gospel. We've only met with him once, but are excited to keep working with him.
Nertil is doing great, as usual! He went up to northern Italy last weekend, where his family lives, to take his sister a Book of Mormon and take her to Church! She loved church and talked to the sister missionaries there for a long time. We taught him about Temples last week, and he got super excited when he found out that he can do genealogy and do work for his ancestors! He really wants to get baptized for his grandpa. He's amazing! He teaches me way more than I teach him and I am inspired by his example.
The work is going well. The Gospel is amazing! I'm so grateful to be here.
Vi voglio tanto bene!
Sorella Hawkey
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
July 1, 20009
Ciao!
Happy Canada Day, from my companion! There was a Canadian sister that served here a while back, and we found Canada balloons in the apartment, so Sorella Bucholtz is having fun celebrating. The adventures are continuing this week. Last week for P-Day we went to Florence and saw a man get arrested and saw a dead homeless man. Then, yesterday we were on the bus on the way to an appointment. I motioned to Sorella Bucholtz that we would be getting off at the next stop. She was right behind me when I got off, so I thought. It turned out there was a little kid there and she would have literally had to step on her to get off, so she didn't make it off. So I watched my greenie drive away on the bus! Luckily the next stop wasn't too far, so we weren't split up for too long. Nertil is doing great! He got confirmed on Sunday, and the branch president asked him to bear his testimony in sacrament meeting. It was so beautiful! He has an amazing testimony! It is one of the highlights of my life to hear him bear it. We had a great lesson with him a few days ago about the priesthood. He's super excited for that! The elders have been taking him to tons of appointments with their investigators, and they love him! He will be such an incredible missionary. Saturday night the Gill family invited us over for dinner. They're members from Pakistan. Fratello Gill was the first member in Pakistan and the first missionary to ever leave from Pakistan. He has the most amazing story! He speaks english, and his brother lives in America. His brother had a friend start writing to Fratello Gill as pen pals. This friend happened to be a member, and through letters started teaching him about the Church. Fratello Gill got a copy of the Book of Mormon, also through mail, and prayed about it and decided to be baptized. However, the Church wasn't there at all at the time. So they had to write to the First Presidency, meet with a bunch of different general authorities, and the nearest mission president, who was in Hong Kong. Fratello Gill did most of the work to get permission to have a Church building in Pakistan. There were no missionaries there, though, so he also did missionary work! He brought the gospel to and baptized over 150 people! Then he went on a mission to England, and in the meantime, the brother got baptized. Now he's here with his beautiful little family, and he is a great help in the branch. Monday we decided to go visit a member, Sorella Toccafondi. We had planned days ago to visit her Monday at a certain time. When we got there, she was having a really hard time, and she kept saying, “How did you know to come see me?” We didn't, but Heavenly Father did. It never ceases to amaze me how well He knows His children and looks out for each one of them. When we did our weekly planning on Friday, we had no idea that Sorella Toccafondi would need us right then. But Heavenly Father did, and He made sure that we were there for her. I am so grateful that He allows me to be an instrument to do His work. It's so humbling to think that He doesn't really need us to build His kingdom. He created the whole universe, and He could easily do it without us. But He allows us to do it because of what it does to us. He lets us take part in this work so that we can learn to trust Him, to rely on Him and to become more like Him. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be an instrument full time right now, and look forward to serving in whatever ways I can for the rest of my life.
Vi voglio tanto bene!
Buona settimana!
Sorella Hawkey
Happy Canada Day, from my companion! There was a Canadian sister that served here a while back, and we found Canada balloons in the apartment, so Sorella Bucholtz is having fun celebrating. The adventures are continuing this week. Last week for P-Day we went to Florence and saw a man get arrested and saw a dead homeless man. Then, yesterday we were on the bus on the way to an appointment. I motioned to Sorella Bucholtz that we would be getting off at the next stop. She was right behind me when I got off, so I thought. It turned out there was a little kid there and she would have literally had to step on her to get off, so she didn't make it off. So I watched my greenie drive away on the bus! Luckily the next stop wasn't too far, so we weren't split up for too long. Nertil is doing great! He got confirmed on Sunday, and the branch president asked him to bear his testimony in sacrament meeting. It was so beautiful! He has an amazing testimony! It is one of the highlights of my life to hear him bear it. We had a great lesson with him a few days ago about the priesthood. He's super excited for that! The elders have been taking him to tons of appointments with their investigators, and they love him! He will be such an incredible missionary. Saturday night the Gill family invited us over for dinner. They're members from Pakistan. Fratello Gill was the first member in Pakistan and the first missionary to ever leave from Pakistan. He has the most amazing story! He speaks english, and his brother lives in America. His brother had a friend start writing to Fratello Gill as pen pals. This friend happened to be a member, and through letters started teaching him about the Church. Fratello Gill got a copy of the Book of Mormon, also through mail, and prayed about it and decided to be baptized. However, the Church wasn't there at all at the time. So they had to write to the First Presidency, meet with a bunch of different general authorities, and the nearest mission president, who was in Hong Kong. Fratello Gill did most of the work to get permission to have a Church building in Pakistan. There were no missionaries there, though, so he also did missionary work! He brought the gospel to and baptized over 150 people! Then he went on a mission to England, and in the meantime, the brother got baptized. Now he's here with his beautiful little family, and he is a great help in the branch. Monday we decided to go visit a member, Sorella Toccafondi. We had planned days ago to visit her Monday at a certain time. When we got there, she was having a really hard time, and she kept saying, “How did you know to come see me?” We didn't, but Heavenly Father did. It never ceases to amaze me how well He knows His children and looks out for each one of them. When we did our weekly planning on Friday, we had no idea that Sorella Toccafondi would need us right then. But Heavenly Father did, and He made sure that we were there for her. I am so grateful that He allows me to be an instrument to do His work. It's so humbling to think that He doesn't really need us to build His kingdom. He created the whole universe, and He could easily do it without us. But He allows us to do it because of what it does to us. He lets us take part in this work so that we can learn to trust Him, to rely on Him and to become more like Him. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be an instrument full time right now, and look forward to serving in whatever ways I can for the rest of my life.
Vi voglio tanto bene!
Buona settimana!
Sorella Hawkey
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