I am glad you had a good birthday! I hope that my package gets to you soon.
I can't wait to see Trayser's pictures!! :)
So this week in Rome 2
Monday: For Pday we went to the mall to try and find a straightener. And I found one! I did my hair all fancy for zone conference and then looked at the pictures and realized that my hair is just out of shape, if you know what I mean. But I am really scared to have someone here touch it, so I am just going to be patient and wait.
Tuesday morning we had a free morning so we did some finding, which is always fun! And in the afternoon we had a lesson with the Anziani. They found a 17 year old girl who is half Nigerian and half Italian (most beautiful person I have ever seen). Her name is Lusinda and she speaks perfect English and Perfect Italian (lucky!). It was a really great lesson. She told us how she is just looking for faith and happiness. We have another lesson with her tomorrow!
That night we had to stay up and wait for some sisters that were going to stay at our house for the conference this week. We had about half of the mission in Rome, so there were tons of missionaries here!
Wednesday: So Italy. A little detail. Everyone here hates the government. Especially the public transportation in Rome. And every once in a while the Rome transportation system decides to make a point and does a sciopero (strike). So ALL of the public transportation was shut down from 8:00 am- 6:00pm. Then it went from 6:00pm-8:00pm and then shut back down. And they did it on the day of our zone conference! The day when we had to get about 50 missionaries to the other side of Rome. And not only were 50 missionaries trying to get to the other side of Rome, but the whole city of Rome was trying to get to work (see this is the point of this strike. The transportation people want more money, so they very bluntly let the city of Rome know that they are needed.) So the meeting starts at 10:00. On a normal day it takes an hour to get to Rome 1 (where the conference was held). So we left the house at like 6:30. We had to take 2 different buses to get to the metro, then take that metro to another metro, then walk a little ways. And needless to say it was so chaotic! We got to the metro and it was so.full. Oh my goodness. There was not even room to breath. So we were waiting at the metro and it was 8:30. We had figured that we would probably catch the very last metro that had left, so we were a little bit worried that if we didn't get into the metro, there wouldn't be another that passes. We were in a group of 4. We made a plan just in case some of us got on and some of us didn't. We waited for the next metro and we were at the front of the line, but we would only get in if the doors stopped right in front of us. We prayed so hard! "Heavenly Father, please help us catch this metro". And of course Heavenly Father loves his missionaries, and the door stopped right in front of us! And all 4 of us managed to squeeze on. (Even though I was standing next to this guy that almost puked.) We made it on the last metro! And as people starting slowly getting off their stops, we slowly started finding other missionaries on the same metro! In the end we found about 20 missionaries who "luckily" got on the last metro. I think God loves us!
The conference was so good! Elder Kearon is amazing and he totally followed the spirit. I got to see a group of my Palermo buddies, Anziano Nickle, Anziano Duffin, and Sorella Robinson. It was fun to sit together and reminisce! The conference gave me a little boost to keep going. I really learned a lot and I am really excited to apply the things that I learned into my work.
Palermo Zone - Christmas 2013
L-R: Sorella Nef, Anziano Di Caro, Sorella Wiltbank, Anziano Duffin, Sorella Robinson, Anziano Nickle, Sorella Bradford, Anziano Hurlburt(?)
Sorella O'Connor, because she is STL went to the conference down in Sicily for all of the leaders, so I was left in Rome with 6 sisters! The conference ended at 4:00 so the mission president asked us to do exchanges with all of the missionaries here and do some finding. On the day when the public transportation was not working. On the day that my companion, the only other one that knows the city, went to Sicily. So that was another crazy story! By the time we made it on the metro to get back home and do some finding, it was already about 6:30. But they really wanted us to do some finding. So, as best as I could, I explained to 4 other sisters how to get back home....and sent them off! Not knowing if they would be able to catch a bus back home in time! Well fast forward to 8:00 pm. We are waiting at our meeting spot and there is one set of sisters that doesn't know how to get home. We are waiting, and waiting. Bus after bus passes and they aren't on any of them. And time is running out for us to catch a bus to get back home. So we are waiting at the bus stop and guess who drives up. My Buddhist bus driver friend! And he flashes his lights at us and I go and talk to him. He tells me that this is the LAST bus that can take us home. But we still haven't found the other sisters yet. Ah what do I do. And then the spirit tells me to get on the bus. So we get on the bus right before the doors close. And I call the other sisters to see where they are, and they happen to be waiting at the next bus stop! (coincidence? I think not!) So in the end....we got home on time. The other sisters made it to the mission home. And all of the sisters were taken care of! As for the Elders....that's another story....haha
Thursday: So my companion and another sister from Rome 1 went to Sicily, so I was with Sorella Ghio for the weekend. We planned that Thursday we would work in Rome 2 and Friday we would work in Rome 1. So on Thursday we saw Simona! We went to go find a referral, but we had no luck. But on the way we ran into a Gelateria Siciliana!! From Palermo in fact. Oh it was so good. They even dipped the Gelato in chocolate and then nuts. Oh man. And then that day when we were headed to Rome 1, I started talking to this man that happened to be from Palermo! And he knew some of the families that I knew! It was so fun. It reminded me why I love Sicilia so much. The people are just so loving. They just want you to love them and they just want to love you. Then after that I went to Rome 1 and was able to talk to Anziano Nickle about Palermo memories. It was just a great day to remember Sicily. I would love to go back :) We'll see what the Lord has in store.
Friday: We did work in Rome 1 and then at the end of the day we met back up with Sorella O'Connor and we headed back home. But of course, that isn't the end of our crazy week. There was also a sister that is serving in Pescara that went to this conference. But the zone leaders didn't plan her travel very well and so she didn't have a companion waiting for her when she got to Rome. So we took her home and then next morning we woke up at 5:30 and took a 3 hour bus to Pescara, then took a 3 hour bus back. Then that evening we did correlation and then a lesson with one of the Assistant's investigators (they were still stuck in Sicily and need us to cover for them)
Sunday: We went to church. And of course the first speaker didn't show up to church, so Sorella O'Connor and I filled in and bore our testimonies. It was actually a really good experience to bear my testimony about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
This week, needless to say, has been crazy! And I was so.tired. And on top of taking care of missionaries all week, I am still a missionary, and was trying to talk to people on the street and make time to study for our investigators. And I just didn't know if I could do it. I was so worn out and I didn't have the energy to do more. But every time the spirit told me to talk to someone, I just prayed "please Heavenly Father, help me go just a little bit further, help me talk to this one more person" And every time, he helped me out. He gave me that drive to keep going even when I thought that I couldn't go any further.
Alma 7
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.I have a testimony in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That he took upon him our pains and afflictions so that he could know how to succor his people. How to help us out when we need it the most. And I saw that this week. I felt the grace of the Lord this week help me do things beyond my own power and strength. And I know that that grace is available to EVERYONE who asks.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy,according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
And along those lines about the Atonement, something that I came to appreciate this week is that the Atonement allows us to change. Imagine going through your whole life knowing and acting like the same person you did in high school. Never experiencing that enlightenment that comes when you learn and grow. When you change and decide to get rid of the things you don't like and become someone better. Someone new. It would be terrible. I am grateful that the Atonement of Jesus Christ allows me to change. To become better. To always be moving forward.
I love you guys! Thank you for your prayers and your support. They keep me going!
Sorella Wiltbank
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