February 10, 2010

Hi!
I'll be finishing my last transfer of the mission here in Cagliari, still with Sister Nelson! I'm excited. We're either going to love it or kill each other by the end of our fourth transfer together. Only time will tell.So, what a great week here on the island! First of all, and most importantly, Susan got baptized!!!!! It was so beautiful! I still feel like it was a dream, because of all the obstacles that we had to overcome to get her baptized. I didn't know if the day would ever come. But everything went well and she bore a beautiful testimony at the baptism. It was so beautiful! The branch helped out a lot and gave her tons of support. We asked a guy in the branch, Giacomo, if he would give a talk at the service. I told him it only had to be about 5 minutes. He called me back less than 2 hours later and said, "Ok, I finished my talk. It's 6 minutes and 10 seconds. Is that ok?" Apparently in those two hours, he had not only written a talk, but also timed himself practicing it. I love this branch!Last week for P-Day, it was the first beautiful day we've had in a while, so we celebrated by having a Gilligan island-themed picnic with the elders. It was a lot of fun. The elders left early, so Sister Nelson and I stayed for a while enjoying the beach, and I ended up meeting an amazing man named Domenico. We talked for about an hour about the gospel and about life while Sister Nelson played with his dog. It was a great conversation, and a good reminder that even during our every-day routines, we can still be an instrument in God's hands. You never know when you'll find someone who is ready for the Gospel.We met with Marisa this week. We do a little bit of service for her, along with teaching her. We help her clean her house, which is the most chaotic place I've ever seen in my life! As my companion says, it looks like a dollar store threw up all over the house. Literally every single space in the house is just a huge pile of junk almost up to the ceiling. There are just little path ways carved out of the junk to get from room to room. We are trying to help her find some semblance of order. It's a work in progress. She's great, though. She calls herself our grandma and takes good care of us. Susan Imafidon (the member, not the one who got baptized on Sunday) is doing really well. She is completely active now and is doing great! Last week she asked us about how she can do family history to get names ready for the Temple, so yesterday we went to the family history center together and helped her fill out some family group sheets. We're going back with her later in the week to put everything in the computer. Susan is so wonderful. She has such a beautiful spirit about her and is always so happy. Lately I've been reading in Mormon in the Book of Mormon. I am always so touched by the end of the Book of Mormon. Moroni was literally the only righteous one. He witnessed the entire destruction of his people, which was a brutal and awful ending. And yet he gives such a beautiful testimony of hope. Moroni didn't have hope for the Nephites or Lamanites who were alive at that time. The Nephite population was extinct and the Lamanites were killing each other. Moroni had hope for us! His reason to hope and his reason to do what he did was for us. He knew that the Book of Mormon would come forth in these last days, and that gave him hope. He knew that in these last days, we would be surrounded by wickedness, but through the teachings of the Book of Mormon we too have reason to hope. I love the Book of Mormon. It changes lives. I've seen it change lives of my investigators, and it's changed my own life. It truly brings souls to Christ.
Have a great week, everyone!
Vi voglio bene!
Sorella Hawkey