CIAO tutti! We have had a suuuuuper crazy beautiful week full of incredible things and i am sooooo stoked to just tell you ALL about it. Buckle, up..it's about to get goooooood.
(I am just going to go day by day to make it a little easier!)
okkkkkkkkay so it all started last wednesday when we were doing some finding! We had been doing it for quite some time and was not having much success. We had really been doing our best to be consecrated finders and try to talk to everyone but NO one was stopping for us. I felt impressed to stop this one woman with her dog and we started to talk to her about Jesus Christ, a subject that she thankfully liked very much! we talked for a little while and she was very kind but after a little bit it was obvious that she wanted to leave. When she told us she had to go, we asked if we could say a quick prayer for her and her family and she agreed. Once again we saw the miracle of prayer as her whole attitude towards us changed dramatically after the prayer. It turned out that we were standing right in front of her apartment and she gave us her phone number and said when would be good to stop by! She was just reallllllly wonderful. The spirit touches hearts of all who will stop long enough to listen! We are really hoping that we can start teaching her...this is often the part of missionary work that is the most difficult...actually setting up appointments with all these stellar people that we meet on the street. Making potentials into investigators is the tricky part!
On friday morning we were doing some finding and we got probably one of the rudest rejections that i have ever gotten! We tried to stop this woman and she just laughed straight at our faces when i said we were missionaries for our church. She continued to walk and laugh when we told her that we were not JWs, and to that she responed she just got really angry and yelled, how can you be SO stupid! you are soooo young and so stupid. that doesn't sound that bad when i type it...but i promise, it was REALLY rude. it like really made me so sad. she doesn't even know what she is hardcore rejecting and calling stupid. It just made my heart hurt. I hope that one day she will give the truth a chance. That same night A. had her baptismal interview and did wonderfully. Her baptism was supposed to be this coming Saturday but we had to move it back two weeks because of scheduling conflicts and what not. But she is still doing suuuuuper wonderful and is very excited for her baptism! Her non member father that lives in Rome is even going to try and come so that should be really neat! That one guy i told you about a while back, G....that we found in the area book a while back and is just suuuuuuper incredible and golden...he is getting baptized one week from Saturday. He is still doing incredibly well and ALREADY finished the Book of Mormon. He is truly special, one of a kind.
On Saturday we had a really cool miracle. We didn't have any appointments in the morning so we decided to pass by P....(our investigator that had been ignoring us for over a week and we were really sad about it but everything is good now because we were able to set an appointment with her, she is adorable and still loves us) we passed by her but she wasn't home and then decided to pass by a woman named M., one of our Less actives. It was the most incredibly timed most inspired pass by EVER. she was just bawwwwwling in her bed because she is going through some reallllllly hard stuff right now with her family and just really needed some comfort. It was so amazing and she told us that we were her angels. Heavenly Father literally sent us to her in the exact moment that she needed it most. It was amazing to see that and to be able to be an instrument in His hands.
Soooo on Sunday after church we packed up and got all ready to catch our train to go to Verona. When we got to verona we met up with Sorella Schoenhals and her little greenie and stayed with them for the night. i didnt sleep hardly at all because i was like really excited or something..but then the next morning we woke up suuuuuper early to get all ready in our Bednar Best and catch our train to Milano in time. It was so fun being on that train just FULL of missionaries all of us headed to Milano. We got there just barely on time and rushed in to take our seats. The conference was held in a chapel in Milano and every missionary in our mission (241) were there on time, reading scriptures, waiting for Elder Bednar to arrive. When that door opened and he walked in the room, the spirit entered powerfully and we all stood. It was one of those moments where you get that amazing confirming feeling that he TRULY is a prophet of God. That spirit came and stayed in that room, more powerfully then i have ever felt for 6 straight hours. At the beginning Elder Bednar asked us all to stand and sing our mission hymn which was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. Every missionary in our mission together in one room (which is so rare and pretty much NEVER happens) just proudly belting the words to our amazing mission hymn to and apostle of The Lord. He just stood on the stand and smilied at as all...and holy cow. I cannot even describe how spectacular it was. I have never been so proud to be a missionary, especially a missionary of the Italy Milan mission. It was incredible. The meeting started and I cannot explain how it was or what was said exactly...but the spirit was there and the spirit is what did the teaching. It was neat because Elder Bednar would ask a question and then missionaries would stand up and give their thoughts on it and then Elder Bednar would add to it and it was just so neat and personal. He was just so real with us, and i loved that about Him. He jokes around but is a spiritual giant. We talked a lot about the digital age and how we need to change how we do missionary work. It was neat because a lot of missionaries thought that it was just going to be about Ipads and what to do and what not to do with them...but holy cow it was so much more. It was about how we must be agent and act and how disobedience is not an option if we truly know and understand who we are and why we are here. It is all about what is in your heart and how you choose to see things and where your dedication lies. The spirit spoke to my heart and soul in such a special way, i cannot explain..but it was definitely a mission highlight if not a LIFE highlight. I learned sooooo much about myself and how i personally can improve and how we each need to improve to be missionaries in the digital age. There was just tooooo much goodness that i cannot really explain it, but from the sounds of it a lot of things are gonna change! I am excited to be a part of it. We were talking and it is cool that we get to see both parts of a mission..with and without ipads...and we will be able to see the differences. I really think it will be a very positivive change and will really help us flood the earth with the gospel! We didn't receive them yet, but should be getting them within the next 2 weeks. There is a lot of training involved, but it should be good! Elder Texiera from the 70 and Steven B. Allen were there as well and their wives and i can't really explain how good and beautiful it really was. I am stoked to be a missionary in the digital age and be a part of this huge expansion!! The whole conference just ruled and it was suuuuper fun to see all my friends and stuff! It was just amazing. Best. Day. Ever. We stayed in Verona again that night and were able to do a little bit of finding work around the city so we were able to see it a little bit so that was super fun!! It is a breathtaking city! we came back to Trieste on Tuesday morning. It was a suuuuuper long and tiring trip but SO worth it and definitely changed my life.
annnnnnd yeah that is pretty much my week in a nutshell! things are just great and happy and YA. i am so just happy to be a missionary during this time and grateful to have had the opportunity to recieve counsel and direction directly from an apostle of The Lord. I will never forget that. He is just so inspiring, i cannot explain. We unfortunately could not shake his hand because He and sister Bednar were off to Rome to do the same thing there. buuuut anywayyyyys yeah it was just wonderful! i love you all and hope you have a wonderful week as always! let me know what miracles you are seeing in your lives :)
Love,
Sorella Burt
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