Charity, Canoli, and the Beach

Well hello! I feel so loved this week! I recieved so many emails and I really am so grateful for them! I love love LOVE that everyone is going on missions! Girls, this is going to change your lives! You are all so amazing! I also love getting little emails from all my friends all across the world. It's so great knowing that we are all going through similar things and we are changing the world! It is a special time to be a missionary.

This week has be great, like usual. You asked about English course. Yes it is amazing! We do it Thursday and Tuesday night from 7-8. It is free and we do it in the church. And English course is our biggest finding tool. As a missionary you will get a lot of "non mi interessa" (I'm not interested) if you start off by saying we are missionaries. But we start off by saying that we are offering a free English course because we are American missionaries and want to do some service for the community. Then we give them a pass along card with the information and that pass along card is stapled to a pass along card about the restoration. Then when they come to the course they are in the church. We start and end each lesson with a prayer and we give a short spiritual thought. There are TONS of people that come. We have 2 basic classes 2 intermediate and 1 advanced and we probably have 45-50 people show up each night. Yesterday the sisters were teaching a intermediate class of about 20 and we gave away 6 Book of Mormons. Just in our class. It really is a great opportunity to find investigators and to get them into the church and feel the spirit.

This week my testimony in priesthood blessings was strengthened so much! Sorella Bradford mentioned that she gets one at the beginning of each transfer so I thought I would too. I recieved a beautiful blessing from Anziano Nickle, whom I met a little under 2 weeks ago. Everything that was said was so specific to my needs. There is no possible way that he would know any of those things about me. I know that the priesthood really is the work of God done by his servants on the earth. And through these worthy priesthood holders I was able to hear direct counsel from my Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for the restoration and that God loves us so much that he will restore these keys to the earth. 

One of the things that have been mentioned in every single blessing that I have recieved on my mission is that during my mission I will learn how to use the power of the Atonement. I have kinda always had this mind set that the Atonement is for repentance. And on the mission our rules are very strict, not much room for error. But I have been doing lots of studying on the Atonement and have come to realize that the Atonement was made for us to become better. Not just to help us through the repentance process, but also to help us take steps beyond our own mortal capabilities. We aren't perfect. No matter how hard we try. 3 Nephi 12:48 "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect". It kinda seems contradictory that we are commanded to be perfect, when we, as mortals don't have the capacity to do so. But the Atonement was performed by Jesus Christ. Who was half God. (Editor's Note: She means that He was half mortal/half immortal at the time He performed the Atonement.) And he did it so that we can always call upon him and recieve the strength of a God. With this strength we can overcome anything! We can overcome our natural mortal man and become perfect in Christ. 

I hope that made some sense? It makes sense in my mind! But I am finding new ways everyday to use the Atonement to help me overcome my personal weaknesses. 

In that same blessing, something was said about charity. So I started reading Ether 12. And I love this quote by Marvin J Ashton:

"Charity is, perhaps, in many ways a misunderstood word. We often equate charity with visiting the sick, taking in casseroles to those in need, or sharing our excess with those who are less fortunate. But really, true charity is much, much more.

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. It makes the thought of being a basher repulsive.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other."

I love this take on Charity! We always associate it with the pure love of Christ. But it is impossible for us to love as much as Christ and give our lives for the world! But through the Atonement of Christ we can be strengthened and we can let the character of Charity become part of who we are!

So fun things that happened this week! I almost died. And I think I visited heaven for about 10 minutes. The culprit is this little Sicilian treat called Canoli. You may have heard of them if you watch the show Cake Boss, but if not I will attach a picture. Oh my goodness. Sicily has the best food of Italy and I am in heaven here. I might also have to be rolled off the plane if I keep going at this pace.  

One more funny thing. I am sitting next to this old man and he is trying to feed me these really hot spicy chip things because he thinks that it is funny. And he just doesn't understand that my email time is precious and I don't want to waste it!

So today for pday we finally went to the beach! Oh my goodness I have the best mission ever. It was so beautiful! And even though we couldn't go in the water it was a fun little pday to walk in the rocks and take some pretty pictures! I really miss my camera :( ugh it kills me to think that my little baby is just sitting in a box in Arizona! 

Oh and Trayser! I APPROVE WHO YOU WANT TO ASK TO HOMECOMING!!! She is so cute and probably one of the few people I will ever approve of. So get on that before she gets asked! And thank you for the letter! It made my day and I read it three times in one hour! You are so cute! And thanks for giving me your iPhone when you go on your mission!

Well that's all for now folks! Love ya! Really, you guys are so amazing!

Sorella Wiltbank!