Letter--August 16

Here is a letter from Breanna. She is NOT allowed to check her blog--so don't leave her a message there. She is NOT allowed to email friends--only family. She appreciates the letters she receives from you. You can send a letter yourself or go to www.dearelder.com and they can send it for you-free!

Here is the letter from today:

Could you tell Allison thank you so much for the card and gift!!So I'm going to apologize in advance- studying Italian 12 hours a day is completely screwing up my english! I'm having trouble spelling in english, so forgive me if I sound retarded.Thank you for the letters and card! I love hearing from you all. Also, there's one person who hasn't yet written me. I won't mention any names, but you know who you are!! Pictures are coming soon- I'll send them today.So funny story- one of the elders in my district said, "Sorella Hawkey, you're kind of like our big sister. You're bossy and kinda crazy, but we're always glad when we listen to you because you're always right." Then another one said, "Yeah, we don't even need our moms here, we have Sorella Hawkey!" Apparently I'm bossy. Who knew? :)So to the good stuff- the gift of tongues is AMAZING!!! I never really thought it was real, but it is! It's amazing how much I've learned and retained in such a short period of time, and I know there's no way I could do it without Christ's help.Me and a few people from my zone are doing a musical number next Sunday at our Sunday night fireside. It's a gorgeous arrangement of I Stand All Amazed that one of the sisters in our zone wrote. Sister Boone, the MTC President's wife, said that she'll probably be using my piano skills more often. My branch also found out I play, so I've been accompanying quite a few musical numbers lately.Every Tuesday night we have a General Authority devotional. Last Tuesday President and Sister Uchtdorf came! It was incredible! Sister Uchtdorf is adorable. She doesn't speak great english, but she isn't shy to try to speak. She said, "Anyone learning a language in the MTC remember me. I make a lot of mistakes but still I brave to try to speak!" President Uchtdorf's talk was amazing. He talked about the power of our call as missionaries and literal representatives of our Savior Jesus Christ. He said that every morning, the First Presidency prays for each of us and our families. What a blessing to know that our Prophet prays for me! And a huge sense of responsibility. He also said that our Prophet promises each missionary more happiness than we could ever know as we serve our missions faithfully. He said that missionary work is the responsibility of the Quorum of the Twelve, but 12 people can't do it by themselves. So they call missionaries to be an extended arm of the Twelve Apostles. Wow! It was such a wonderful experience to hear from an Apostle of the Lord, to hear his testimony, and for him to promise us beautiful blessings as we serve faithfully.Another highlight of my week was going to the RC, which is where people call in when they get pass-along cards to order copies of the Book of Mormon or the Church videos. We were doing follow-up calls this week, to make sure people who ordered things receieved them. I called a lady who ordered a Bible, but hadn't yet receieved it. We were talking about the Church, and she started telling me about how she's suffering from schizophrenia, and can't find anything that helps her relieve her suffering. She seemed completely overwhelmed, which I probably would be too in that situation. She said, "I just want to find Jesus and know He loves me." I was able to bear testimony that Christ does in fact love her and know her and her trials. He is ready and waiting to help her and give her strength. After I bore my testimony, I asked if she would like the missionaries to come over to tell her more about our Savior. She was crying, and said that she would love to hear more of this message. What a blessing to know that Christ lives and loves me! And to be able to share that knowledge with others. I can't wait to go to Italy to share these truths with the people there.I love you all so much! I'm so grateful for this opportunity I have to be here and to dedicate myself to the Lord. I'm working on letting go of myself and letting Heavenly Father take over. I've never been more exhausted and had more humbling experiences, but I've also never been closer to my Savior. I know that He knows me as an individual, and knows each and every one of you. He truly does care about each of us. I know that prayer is real.Vi voglio bene!Sorella Hawkey