April 29, 2009

Hi,
This week has been AMAZING!!!! We have 5 new investigators, all of whom are incredible! Also Sunday we had district conference in Florence, and I got to see all the members in La Spezia! It was so fun to see them all!
Our first new investigator of the week is Giuseppe. We met him a couple weeks ago on a bench as we were trying to find the address of a referral. We talked to him for a few minutes, and he said that he's trying to find peace and hope, because right now he doesn't have either. He met with the missionaries a few times 10 years ago and even went to a baptism. We had an amazing appointment with him! He talked about how he feels the Spirit when he's around us and when we talk about the Gospel. He's recently divorced and has a 14 year old son who think we're a little weird, but likes us for the most part. Giuseppe has had such a hard life, but he still has such a sweet spirit. He's wonderful!
Next is Rita. She's in her late 20's and is from Nigeria. I love working with Nigerians! They have so much faith and want so much to do what's right. She's a referral from a member in our branch. We met with her Monday, and she loved the movie The Restoration! She wants to come to church this Sunday.
Monday night we met with Vincenzo, and older man that sometimes comes to our english class. He is such a sweetheart! We had a good talk about the Book of Mormon with him. He's not necessarily interested in becoming a member any time soon, but he did promise to read a chapter a day and pray. He's one of those investigators who doesn't know he's an investigator. We have a couple of those!
Tuesday we met with Mary. She's incredible! One of the elders here met her on the bus last week, and gave us her number. She's also recently divorced and has two kids and two grandkids who she absolutely adores! She is one of the most genuinely sweet people I've ever met. We had a great lesson about the Atonement and how it can help us with all of our problems. She has a lot of faith!
We had another appointment last night with Neytil, the Albanian who I talked about last week, and he is now officially an investigator! He is amazing! He more or less taught the first lesson himself in the form of what he's always thought should be part of Christ's true church! He talked about how infants shouldn't be baptized, because they aren't even old enough to make the choice and make a covenant with God, and how baptism should be by immersion because that's how Jesus was baptized. Then he said that he's always thought that there should be another prophet on the earth, because there were prophets in the Bible. And that was before we even mentioned anything about Joseph Smith and the Restoration! He had read almost all of the Book of Mormon and was so excited to tell us the stories he read. He remembered every single little detail! He's so wonderful, and SO prepared for the Gospel! Saimir, a recent convert in the branch who's also Albanian, came with us and bore an amazing testimony. They quickly became friends and are going together to a young single adult activity this week in Florence!
Dielle is still doing great. She is so sweet. She has problems reading, so hasn't read the Book of Mormon yet. We're trying to find it on CD for her so she can listen to it. She's so adorable. I love going to her house and visiting with her! I feel like she's my sister!
I love you all and hope you are doing well. I love losing myself in this work. President Acerson said last zone conference that "the best way to improve ourselves is to seek to bless the lives of others." It is so true! When we lose ourselves and focus on the well-being of others, we find more happiness and joy than we could ever find by focusing on ourselves. I love seeing the light in people's eyes as they feel and start to recognize the Spirit. I love seeing the changes that this Gospel brings. This Gospel is so amazing! We belong to the same church that Christ Himself belonged to. It's true, and I love it!
Vi voglio tantissimo bene!
Sorella Hawkey