September 16, 2009

Ciao!
Things are going great here in Prato. We had a great appointment with Diletta, and talked to her about how she can be an example for her mom and brother. She wants to come to church with us! She's so cute. She made me this really cute little origami paper cut out thing. Her grandma, who is a member in our branch, is amazing. She has a huge garden. The other day we were at their house, and she gave us fresh grape juice that she made by herself from grapes straight off the vines in her backyard. It was so good!
Vera is doing well. We watched Together Forever with her the other day and she loved it. She really wants an eternal family. She still hasn't received an answer to her prayers, but we're trying to help her recognize how answers come. She's such a great mom and is so sweet. Their family will be such a blessing to our branch here.
Sister Lombardo is making a lot of progress. We had a really good talk with her last week about what she wants in life. We asked her if she's happy with the choices she's making. We talked about how she felt when she used to come to church and when she first got baptized. I don't know what exactly happened, but during that conversation something changed for her. She broke down that wall that she's been putting up and realized that she's not happy anymore. She wants to feel the Spirit and wants to do what's right. We told her we want to help her do that, so now we're starting to go over several times a week and give her the lessons. I love Sister Lombardo so much! She's out of control crazy, but so sweet and so fun!
Kelly is doing well. We've had a couple really good lessons with him. He loved the Plan of Salvation and accepted the Word of Wisdom without problem. I love the faith the Nigerians have. They willingly accept commandments from God and realize the importance of obedience, even when it's not always fun or convenient. He has been receiving opposition from his decision to be baptized. His old pastor called him and told him all sorts of things about the Church, which really hurt him. He is strong, though and still wants to get baptized. We're praying a lot for him that he will have the strength to do what he needs to do.
Saturday we met a woman named Veronica, and now she's a new investigator. It's actually really neat how we met her. We went to drop of a birthday card for a lady in the branch. We just wanted to put it in her mailbox, which was inside the apartment building. So we rang a random doorbell of the apartment building, to ask if they would let us in the main door so we could drop this note off. A really sweet lady came to the door and asked us what we wanted. We explained to her that we wanted to drop off this note. She then asked us who we are and we explained that we're missionaries and what we do here. She told us a little about her life and how she wants to find answers. We told her a little about the Plan of Salvation and that she can be with her husband, who passed away 15 years ago, forever someday. She teared up and said that we were angels sent to her from God and that she wants to meet us again and learn more. We went back the next day and had a great talk with her. She's so prepared! She's 54 years old and from Romania. All 7 of her kids are still in Romania and she's here working to send money back for them. We're really excited to work with her.
Everyone else is doing well. The last few days I've been reading stories from old Ensigns about the Pioneer Saints. I am so inspired by their stories and their examples. I am especially touched by the handcart pioneers. One of my favorite stories is of a man who years after the experience heard some other members criticizing the Church leaders for letting the pioneers go west so late in the season. This man stood up and said (sorry, I don't have the story here with me, so I don't have the exact words!) that he never once regretted coming by handcart. He told these men about how difficult is was, how we would see a point in the distance and know that he could make it only that far, and no further. Once he would reach that point, the cart started pushing itself and he knew then that angels of God were watching over him. He was grateful for this opportunity, despite all the hardships, because he became acquainted with God in his infirmities. We all have difficult experiences. We're not freezing on the plains or crossing the country with a handcart, but we all have trials. It is through these trials that we become acquainted with our Heavenly Father, that we learn to rely on Him and trust in Him. We learn to rely on the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ and the healing power that it entails. We learn more about the love our Heavenly Father has for us. I am grateful Heavenly Father loves us enough to let us have trials, so that we grow and become closer to Him.
Vi voglio tanto bene!
Sorella Hawkey