Yay for snow!! Me and Sorella O'Connor fasted for it, and I've been praying all week! I hope you get some more so things will moisten up! On the other hand, it's been raining like crazy here!! The rivers are flooding. But luckily I found a pair of rain boots in our apartment that just happened to be my size! Wooo! Score! I also made lots of yummy food this week! REAL tacos!!! And biscuits and gravy! Yummm! Thank you!!! (Yes mom, I know how to cook rice!!!! I've done lots of growing up here on my mission and one of the things that I have learned is how to cook. I don't want to brag or anything, but I am pretty good. Maybe better than you. Okay maybe not.)
So this week! has been great!
P-day was super super rainy, so we stayed inside and chilled.
On Wednesday we went and contacted that referral from Sister Graham! It was super cool because we showed up at her palazzo and the front door man said that she was out and she didn't answer her door. But then on our way out we saw her! And she seemed really excited. We are going to get together this week or next week for pranzo (lunch) together. Thank you Sister Graham for the referral! Anna wants to know when you are going to come to Rome to visit her. Maybe her baptism? ;)
I also got to go to Ladispoli to do a scambio (exchange) with Sorella Christianson. It was really nice to get out of the city. But it was SO cold out by the sea. It rained the WHOLE time and I brought the wrong clothes for the rain. But we saw some really nice miracles :) It also really made me miss my companion Sorella O'Connor and my Roma 2 :) And while I was gone Sorella O'Connor ran into....Luca's cousin....on the bus!! How cool?! They totally have some family upstairs working on them. The bad thing is that we found out that they are all born and raised Jehovah's Witness. But Luca's mom left the church as a teenager and now she is shunned by the rest of her family. It is really sad. But the good news about Luca is that he pretty much has a baptismal date. It isn't official yet, but we are hoping for the first or second week in March. :) :) :)
Friday we had a lesson with Carol to get her all ready for her baptism. Oh my goodness. Guys it was so beautiful. On Saturday we spent the morning getting things ready. Making the program and getting some flowers and just lots of running around. We had a little scare because the hot water was broken, but we got someone to come fix it and it was fine :)
There were 2 baptisms before her at 4:00 and hers was at 6:00. She showed up and we got her all dressed up and ready to go. We had a little prep talk before. She said she had had a bad day and that she was a little stressed out and nervous. We talked about how satan is going to try to do anything to stop her from doing this. And she looked at us with her watery brown eyes and said "I know what I have to do and NOTHING is going to stop me".
She had a beautiful service. The chapel was full of members there to support her and there was an amazing talk done by Sorella O'Connor. One of the Anziani's investigators sang a beautiful musical number. And then she did it! She was baptized. And I can't even begin to describe the look on her face when she came out of that water. Oh my goodness. It was just this look of pure joy. All of her stress and her worries were washed away and she just looked so beautiful and happy. She walked out of the bathroom with this new confidence. She walked right up to the pulpit and gave a beautiful testimony, in Italian, and left everyone teary eyed.
It was just so beautiful. To not only see the spiritual difference in her, but the physical difference. She is so bold and you can just tell that she is in it 100%. She knows that it is true and nobody can take that away from her. We have already been talking about the temple and she knows that that is her next goal. She has even decided on the temple! She is an architect, so she thinks that the Salt Lake City Temple is the most beautiful. And it is just cool to see all of the members that are supporting her and giving her the love that she needs. It really helped me realize again, how important members are in the conversion process.
On Sunday she received the Holy Ghost and bore her testimony again.
Oh I just wish you guys could meet her. She is so amazing!
It was a good week to celebrate my half way mark. If celebrate is the right word?
So this week in my personal study I have been studying in 2 Nephi the words of Isaiah. Oh.my.goodness. With the eyes of a missionary those chapters are so much more meaningful. I would say that they are some of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. I think the key to understanding Isaiah is to use the footnotes from the bible version.
It lead me to study up on the creation, the fall, and the atonement.
Bruce R McConkie said,
"The three pillars of eternity, the three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest. Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught."My love for the Savior has grown so much as I have thought about the beautiful plan that he has created for us. That he created this beautiful world for us to live on to come and gain a body, to show our faith and dedication to him. I am so grateful for Adam and Eve "Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy." Adam fell that we might have joy. Our life here is so that we can find joy. And the Atonement makes all of that possible. I wish I could explain my whole study but that would take all day!
I hope everyone has an amazing week! I love you guys and miss you so much!!
Alla prossima!
Sorella Wiltbank
P.S. yesterday at church I ran into Barry Slade! It was so funny. I told him who I was and he says "Oh ya, I'm a WIltbank, where are you from? We talked all about home! He really loves Grandpa Bill and he says hi!(His dad is Blain Slade)
These are Sorella Steurer's Birthday flowers that we got her and they were kinda ugly, so we used them as a prop! - with Sorella Kimball
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