Sorella Wiltbank: Rome for Christmas

Hi guys! This week has been insane!!

Monday
As I mentioned I went ahead and bought a coat. It is long and warm and I will send you some pictures. And we just went around the city for Pday, nothing much.

In front of their apartment door that the Alders decorated for them.

Tuesday
We had DDM and it was great! We talked about finding and the best ways to approach the task. I was used as the example of always having a smile! So thanks Mom, even the people in Italy appreciate the braces! haha

We were on the street and I stopped this lady and she seemed like she was interested in knowing more about us, she really wanted our pamphlet and I was kinda excited. Then she asked if she could write down a website for us to go visit. She took my planner and wrote... www.jw.org.... yes. I was fooled by a JW.

That night in English course, there was some crazy stuff that went down! So our golden investigator Josi is in the intermediate class with the other Sorelle, and there is also 3 other golden investigators in that class. They are all reading the Book of Mormon and are so great! And so for the spiritual thought they did a question and answer session. And the topic went to temples. And there was a sassy girl in the class that said "The Mormons say that the temple is great but they don't tell you how many times you can get married and to how many people" and all of our investigators turned around and just started bearing hard core testimony about the church and the Book of Mormon and about anything you can think of! And it was just so awesome! Afterward all the missionaries were sitting in the hall and we were just talking about how awesome our investigators are and we were having such a good time talking about the little debate. And at that moment I realized that missionaries are definently not normal teenagers. haha we were getting so excited about these 4 Sicilian women bearing their testimony about the church. But I love it :)

Wednesday
We did a good morning of finding and talked to a few good potentials. We did more finding in the afternoon.

Thursday
was conferenza di zona! It was a little conference this month, but it was so good! We talked about the Holy Ghost and how to recognize and follow his promptings. Then the Waddoups had us reenact the nativity and it was really fun :) I was the narrator!

That night at english course we found a new investigator. His name is also Giuseppe. We have taught now 4 Guiseppes these past two transfers! Luckily each one keeps getting better and better. Then on our way home we found these awesome guys on the street who has a best friend who lives in a city nearby and he is a member and "the leader of the group". They were so awesome and they called up their friend and had us talk with him on the phone and the friend was so excited that the missionaries found them! We got their phone number, so I hope something comes out of it :)

Friday
oh Venerdì {Friday}. So in the morning we did some planning and then as we were getting ready to eat lunch we got a call from Presidente Waddoups.

So because flights to the US are so expensive during Christmas, the missionaries who are supposed to go home at the end of this transfer, go home before Christmas instead of at the end. And naturally there needs to be somebody who takes their place, so the mission had to do a few emergency transfers.

And I was the unlucky one to get the call.

Wednesday morning I will be flying to Rome 2.

It was a hard call. I love love love Palermo. I love my district, our investigators, the members, and we had so many great plans for Christmas. And it is going to be hard to have to go to a city for Christmas where I don't know the people very well. Because that is what Christmas is all about, being with the people you love. But the Lord needs me back in Rome. My companion will be Sorella O'Connor and I will be serving in the ward where the mission office is. So the Steurers and the Waddoups and the Assistants will all be there. Our zone has the Colesseum and St. Peters and the Spanish Steps. And I can only imagine how beautiful it will be for Christmas. It is the next step in my adventure in Italy. Whether the call came now or in three weeks it would still be hard. But I am excited to see what happens next!

So about Christmas, I am not quite sure what Sorella O'Connor has planned, but I will let you know.

Saturday
I spent the morning packing and listening to Christmas music. In the evening we went to Monreale with the Anziani and did a cena {dinner} appointment with la famiglia Piampiano.

{I'm so glad for Google Translate!
Now that she is using more Italian words, I'm always having to look them up. :)}

Sunday
We had a meeting with the bishopric that....well, let's just say it could have gone better. The day was full of lots of teary goodbyes. I bore my testimony. Took lots of pictures and got addresses. Then Sorella Giambona had us over for one last pranzo all together. And after that the Anziani invited us to a lesson with them.

So this week has been crazy! I've had a stinking crying headache since Friday! haha the days leading up to leaving are always the hardest, but once I get to Rome, it will all get better :)

It's Christmas time! I love Christmas time. I love that there is a time we set aside to celebrate the Savior. Even people who don't believe in Christ are affected by this holiday.

Small Italian nativity.

My mission has made me reflect a lot on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and just what it means. And one thing that I have learned is that every single person on the Earth is a child of God. Whether they realize it and acknowledge it or not. And even if someone isn't Christian, they are still in the hands of the Lord. He loves every single one of his children and has created, individually, a plan for all of us. He cares for us individually. No.matter.what.

There are so many people in the world who are looking for this knowledge, and most of them don't even know that they are looking for it. Everyone is looking for love. Looking for those feelings that come when you know that you mean something to someone. And there is lots of heartache caused by people feeling unloved.

But the beautiful message of Jesus Christ is that we never have to feel that way. We have a Savior who loves us unconditionally. Who loves us even when we don't love him back. Who experienced the Atonement because he loves us and so he could know how to love us even more.

"Every one of us needs to know that we can go on in the strength of the Lord. We can put our hand in His, and we will feel His sustaining presence lift us to heights unattainable alone. We must trust in the Lord. If we give ourselves freely to Him, our burdens will be lifted and our hearts will be consoled.

Imagine the wounds in His hands. His weathered hands, yes, even His hands of torn flesh and physical sacrifice, give our own hands greater power and direction. It is the wounded Christ who leads us through our moments of difficulty. It is He who bears us up when we need more air to breathe or direction to follow or even more courage to continue. If we will keep the commandments of God and walk hand in hand with Him in His paths, we will go forward with faith and never feel alone" Craig Zwick

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he was born as an innocent baby and came perfectly into this unperfect world, because he loves us. The price is already paid. He hands are there whenever we need them. He is waiting for us to make the first step and once we do, we will never feel alone.

I am grateful for the love that I recieve from my Savior. He means everything to me. I feel so privileged that I have the beautiful opportunity to be his representative, to invite people to come to Him.

He lives. He lives and will love us to the end!

Merry Christmas!

Sorella Wiltbank

{Some fun pics from her dropbox that I liked...}