It all starts with my incredible new companion, Sorella Hibo. She got here on Thursday and from that very day we have been seeing so many beautiful things happen. So just a little bit about her, she was born in Ivory Coast and moved to Italy when she was 5 years old. French is her first language, Italian her second, and she is also fluent in english. She is 23 years old and has been on her mission for two more transfers then me. She is a mission hero...just one of those missionaries that everyone knows and everyone loves because she is literally just incredible. She knows the Bible and the scriptures and just the gospel like the back of her hand and is an amazing teacher and just has a way with people. We clicked from day one and literally are just a wonderful companionship. I love her so verrrrrrry much and we haven't even been together for a week. I love her because she knows how to do missionary work...how to do it efficiently and with her heart. I don't know, we just have the same vision for the work and it is just a huuuuuge blessing. I cannot really describe it but since she got here there has just been a fire in our work. an excitement, a great energy! We are working hard together and Heavenly Father is blessing us so very much. I have realized and learned a lot this week, one being that there are no excuses in missionary work. none. zero. the fact that everyone is gone out of town? yeah it really doesn't matter. The amount of people that we taught and found this week is amazing. Yes, we didn't have like lotttttts of scheduled appointments...but we went out and just talked to so many wonderful people and found so many potentials and beautiful miracles.
One of the first miracles that we saw this week was when we went to visit one of our members and her less active daughter. We get to their house and just as we finish praying before going upstairs, she calls us and says that we cannot come up because they have to leave. We told her we were already there, but she just tells us that we have to come back another day. We were kind of bummed, but stood there for a moment trying to decide what to do. Like 3 minutes later, she calls us back and tells us that we can come up. So we go upstairs and low and behold..SHE HAS A FRIEND OVER...what. we were like so stoked. Her name is P. and we just sat down and went right into the Restoration. It went beautifully and P. was so wonderful and very interested. She is from Ecuador and had already met with missionaries in her country and was just very wonderful and open to our message. We got her phone number and set up a date that we could come to her house and start teaching her!!! We were walking on air after that appointment and this excitement that we felt just continued and continued.
The key is literally just talking to everyone. We live in the most wonderful city for doing that. There are alwaaaaaays people around...Milan is just huge and full of so many wonderful people that are actually willing to listen to us and accept our message. I am growing such a real and deep love for this city and for the amazing potential and beauty that it has in store. Another day we had an appointment set with a Philippine lady so that morning we had gotten out a Book of Mormon in her language and had it on the table all ready to go. She cancelled the appointment a little bit before so we had some time to go out and do finding. We decided to grab the Book of Mormon and Sorella Hibo was like, we will find a Philippine person that needs it. We went to the park near our house and literally the first person we talked to was a Philippine lady that loves reading religious books and has heard about our church and wants to know more. Coincidence? I think not. Heavenly Father Literally has been PLACING so many people into our path it is incredible.
One of my favorite parts of the week was sunday...We called Sorella Dibb (Our mission president's wife) to see if she wanted to come and do some proselyting work with us on sunday afternoon. She agreed and we had a few appointments set and we were really excited for it! As we were walking to the church to meet her, one of our appointments gets cancelled and it is also raining so I was like a little bit worried about what we would do with Sorella Dibb. But Sorella Hibo was just her calm and cool self and said, don't worry it will be alright. We parked the car and got out in an area that we had selected, said a prayer and started finding. We had about 2 hours and we told Sorella Dibb that we wanted to teach 6 lessons on the street before our appointment and then we just started talking to people. I cannot really describe that two hours but lets just say that it was the best sunday i have ever had on the mission. It was such a special opportunity to be able to do missionary work with Sorella Dibb, her bearing her simple, but powerful testimony on the family and seeing how it touched people's hearts. We were happy and we saw miracles and by the end of that two hours we had met our goal. It was an edifying experience. We saw that prayer touches lives as we prayed for a man that was sick with cancer and tears rolled down his face. We saw that Heavenly Father helps us reach worthy goals. We saw that missionary work is the happiest thing on the planet. Man, i could go on for ages.
Literally there have just been too many amazing experiences to count...maybe one day I will tell you all of them...but this week i really learned how it really feels to give your heart to the Lord. He requires our heart and a willing mind ( D&C 64:34) and we are imperfect instruments in His hands and He uses us to orchestrate His perfect work. I could not be happier and I know that the power of prayer is real. The gospel is the only thing that can truly change the world...and we are changing it, one person at a time.
As a side note...Sorella Hibo knows the Motyer family!! When they lived here in Italy, they went to her ward and they are just suuuuuper close with her family! We were like freaking out when we made that connection. It is such a small world.
As another side note...i started this email in the church and then we had to leave to buy some cream for Sorella Hibo's cool hair and we were like rushing to catch a bus so we could hurry home and finish email before pday ended and i like TOTALLY biffed it on the side walk. Like a straight face plant, shopping bags in hand...straight on my face. I was like crying but laughing and just like overwhelmed and we missed the bus and there was a suuuuper cute little old lady that was just so worried for me and giving me candy and so many people were watching and it was just one of those experiences...yup.
Have a happy week! I love you all so very much. thank you from my heart for all the love that you show me.
Con TANTO amore,
Sorella Burt
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