Hi everyone!
So much has happened since I wrote last, and that was just last week! Here are some of the highlights:
Half of the elders left and we got two new family members, including a greenie from Sicily, making him my 6th mission child. We put a blue ribbon on the elder’s apartment door to welcome the new missionary and congratulate his trainer. Everyone in Italy puts ribbons on the door when they have a baby. Their neighbors congratulated them for having a new baby boy. Oops! J
It snowed in Cagliari! The first time in 25 years. We didn’t get to take a snow day, though
We got to see the Carnevale parade through the streets of Cagliari. Carnevale is a huge party here. Look for pictures online to see what it’s all about.
We went to Oristano to celebrate Carnevale at the Sartiglia. It was SO fun! Check it out online, too. www.sartiglia.info. I obviously haven’t been on the website, so I don’t know if it’s good, but I hear it’s also in English.
We celebrated Valentines Day by going to a catholic funeral. Not the best Valentines Day I ever had. Sister Nelson and I did have pink pancakes for lunch, though.
Susan got the Holy Ghost on Sunday! She’s doing really well. I still can’t believe she actually is baptized. We’re trying to work more with Massimo, but he is so silly sometimes. One day he tells us that he wants to get baptized, and the next day he doesn’t want anything to do with the Church. We have hope for him, though. We also hope that Alessio, their son, will stop biting, hitting, and spitting on us.
Susan Imafidon, the no-longer inactive member, is doing great! She has been doing a lot of family history and got a bunch of names ready for the Temple! She can’t wait to go to the Temple one day, which hopefully is soon. She has such a strong testimony and has been so incredibly blessed since she started coming back to Church.
Odion is also doing really well. We’re having her teach us the lessons and she’s doing a great job. She’s so excited for the possibility of going on a mission some day. We love Odion!
Other than that, our work is kind of slow right now. Unfortunately a lot of investigators don’t answer the phone anymore. Dennis is having a really hard time right now, and could use a lot of prayers! We’re spending a lot of time finding people lately and are excited to find those who are ready for the Gospel.
The work is going well and I love being a part of it! This Gospel is so incredible! My mission has changed my life forever.
Buona settimana. Vi voglio bene!
Sorella Hawkey
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
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
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
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