My purpose in writing this email is finding joy when things are rough. This week was one of those weeks where you just feel a thousand emotions and things go wrong and you just don't really know what to do. So then I had the thought/impression that I should write a list of the positive things that happened throughout the week and dwell on those things rather then the problems. As I followed this impression, I realized that the Lord really was working with us this week and it was really not as bad as I thought it was in the moment. I would like to share this list with you all as we all learn together the vital importance of looking for the joyful things in life and recognizing the hand of the Lord in our lives each day!
-For Pday last week we decided to go up to the large catholic church on the hill called Superga. You can see it from pretty much anywhere in Torino and when you are the top you can see the whole city. The other Sorelle that we live with had the brilliant idea called taking pumpkins up with us to this mountain and carving them up there. And that we did. It just turned out to be probably the worst weather for doing so. We got up there and the fog was so thick that we couldn't even see the massive church while standing right in front of it. We carved pumpkins in the rain and just had a supppppper great time enjoying the beauty of the mountains in the fog.
-After we got over the disappointment of the stolen bike last week, one of our wonderful members called us and said that they have an old bike at their house that they don't use anymore. They are going to fix it up as a mutual activity and then donate it to the sisters! We were so grateful and so happy to receive such a loving and thoughtful phone call.
-I finished my second full mission journal and it brought me so much joy to look back through the pages and remember the amazing experiences that have made up my mission. Each day recorded is so very special.
-We passed by the work of this potential African lady named J. this week and it turns out that they work out of this small little garage FULL to the top of old clothes. They receive old clothes and then send them to the people in Ghana that need them. I cannot really describe the experience that we had there...they are just joyful people that LOVE life and love Jesus and just love to laugh with new people. Unfortunately they are not interested in our message, but they are wonderful people and we had a joyful 30 minutes of our lives spent with people that enjoy life.
-We had an appointment set up with an american member of our ward named S. We went over and showed her the bible video of the Lost Sheep and talked about how we need to look after those around us and search after those that our lost. The spirit was there and we had a nice discussion, but the beautiful moment came when, with tears in her eyes, she told us a story about a girl near her hometown in Texas was recently killed and how much it has effected her. This girl was preparing to serve a mission and just had the biggest heart and loved to serve others. S. cried as she told us how much she just wants to carry on her legacy by serving others and doing the small acts each day and how our message came at the exact time she needed. We were joyful that the Lord made us instruments in His hands to comfort His daughter.
-We were doing some finding near the church and the only person near was a woman named R. sitting on a bench. As we talked with her and got to know her she shared with us how she had recently lost her "very special husband" and how alone she felt. We testified to her of the reality of God's plan and how she never needs to feel alone. She had tears in her eyes as she told us that we had lifted her soul and gave her the hope she needed.
-We did a ward-wide fast for the sake of the missionary work in our ward and during fast and testimony meeting many members got up and bore powerful testimony of the ways missionary work has blessed their lives. I felt a beautiful spirit in church this week. It was the exact spiritual re-charge that my soul needed and i received answers and just learned MANY good things about the plan of salvation and how beautifully perfect it is.
-I found a less active lady on the bus! I just told her that i liked her scarf and then she said thanks, I am a member of your church! I was stoooooked and we had a great little chat and I got her phone number. It taught me that nobody falls through the cracks. The Lord put her in my path.
My list was longer then this and I honestly could go on and on...but it is already super long so I will stop there. All I know is that I learned a powerful lesson this week...The Lord is in the fine details. When we feel like everything is going wrong, all we need to do is take a step back and realize how much is going right! I am so grateful for all the things that I am learning and for the Lord's plan for me. It is personalized, He knows what Sorella Burt needs in every moment. He knows because He is my Father. And I witness that this is true! I love being a missionary. It brings me so much joy.
Con tanto afetto,
Sorella Burt
ps in other news i got a call this week saying that I can go to Milano
to pick up my permesso!! (this is my second one because I had to renew
the first one) we are going tomorrow and i am just so happpppppppy.
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