March 24, 2010

Hi!

Well, it's my last letter from Italy. Time has gone by so quickly. I can't believe it's over. What a wonderful experience it's been. The work continues to move forward. Giorgio and Francesca are doing so well! Francesca brings all of her stop smoking supplies with her everywhere she goes. And Giorgio has gone from smoking 2 packs a day to 5 or 6 cigarettes a day! He says he'll never stop smoking, but we'll see about that. Last week we had dinner with them, a member in the branch, and the Elders. It was so much fun! Giorgio is hilarious. He is from Napoli, and it's obvious. He spent the whole evening telling stories and singing at the dinner table. He's so fun! We've had several lessons with them this week and they're doing really well. They are quickly gaining testimonies of the Gospel and are keeping their committments. Yesterday we talked about baptism. They didn't want to set a date yet, but I think they'll get baptized soon!

Luisa is doing well. We've had a few lessons with her this week. Monday we had lunch with her at her house on the ocean, which is gorgeous! She's progressing, even if it's slowly. Roberta is also doing well. We started working on Personal Progress with her. We're going to do the program together with her. She is so precious. It was really hard to say goodbye to her. Ilaria and the baby are doing well. She's not on bed rest anymore, as of this morning! She's so cute. So now hopefully they'll start coming back to church.

Sunday for our district meeting I gave the training about being instruments in God's hands. I learned a lot from preparing for the training. There are so many ways that we can be instruments in God's hands to bless His children. President Faust gave a beautiful talk about this. In part of it, he said: "You can be powerful instruments in the hands of God to help bring about this great work...You can do something for another person that no one else ever born can do." There are countless ways that we can help those around us. I especially love what President Ucthdorf said:

"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us, and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers."

I'm so grateful that I've been able to serve the Lord here in Italy. I've loved it so much. My mission has meant everything to me, and I'll be forever grateful for this sacred, beautiful experience.

Vi voglio bene! See you soon!

Sorella Hawkey