February 3, 2010

Hi Everyone-
I have a new email address. It's breanna.hawkey@myldsmail.net. Use that one from now on.Anyways, Susan is getting baptized on Sunday!! Miracles do in fact happen. She is doing great and is so ready and so excited!!! Massimo is excited and expressed some desire to also get baptized someday. We're going to continue working with him. They're such a cute little mis-matched family.Last week we had a Relief Society activity at the bakery of some members in the branch. We learned how to make all sorts of goodies. It was a lot of fun. I love the food here! And the members are amazing. Odion is doing really well. She has such a strong testimony and a huge desire to serve a mission. She studies hard and is starting to save money. She is an amazing example to me. She works a lot and can't come to a lot of appointments with us, but she loves to help us by making phone calls to investigators, inviting people to church and sitting by investigators in church. We love Odion!We've been meeting with Rita and Antonio lately. They've been investigators for a long time but have been out of town for several months. They're so sweet! They take us in like we're their kids and love us. We had lunch with them yesterday. When we left they gave us a huge sack full of food to take home with us. They're like our parents away from home.Ilaria and Alfredo have been really busy, but we have met a few times with Maurizio. He's doing really well. We read Alma 36 with him last week and Walter came with us. It was a really good lesson. He loves the Book of Mormon and really internalizes what we read. We're working on getting him to church more frequently. Next week we're just going to show up at his house and walk with him the few blocks to church so he has no excuse.Roberta is also doing well, overall. She knows deep down what she needs to do but is to scared to do it. We read a conference talk with her this week and I think she was really touched by it. Now we just need to help her have the courage to get baptized. I have been reading Doctrine and Covenants lately, and the other day section 68 verse 6 really stuck out to me. It says:"Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you." It also made me think of a favorite hymn, Be Still, My Soul. The hymn says:
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.Leave to thy God to order and provide;In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly FriendThru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertakeTo guide the future as he has the past.Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;All now mysterious shall be bright at last.Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still knowHis voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning onWhen we shall be forever with the Lord,When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.We have nothing to fear, for the Lord is with us and will also stand by us. He leads our path. He is our best Friend and will always be there for us. I know that He's always been with me when I need His guidance. Vi voglio tanto bene!
Sorella Hawkey