True righteousness can change the world.

Hi guys! It sounds like you had a pretty good week! Congratulations to Colten! The new driver!! Now he can be my official driver....because I am too scared to drive! Really, it gives me panic attacks to even think about it. Not touching the keys to the car for at least a week. (okay that might change after I am stuck in guam for a few days :)

Things over here are crazy as always! Too many things to tell you...I will just have to wait until I get home! But I will say that we are alive and doing well! This is the true church of Jesus Christ and ...everything will be okay :)

Sorella Cluff is a rock! She is doing so good! We get along really well. Lots of laughing...a little bit of crying (the good kind). We eat lots of chocolate and lots of people are starting to compliment me on my little pancia (stomach). I take it as a compliment! I am a little afraid that she is going to get lost though...she gets a little disoriented sometimes. She makes me want to be a better missionary.
I got your card in the mail! Thank you! And I will pass along the stickers to V. and E.

As for my goals for these last two weeks. I guess I really haven't set anything in specific...but thank you for the challenge to set some! I once had an x-missionary tell me to think about all of the things that Jesus Christ did in his last week. Obviously I won't be doing anything like establishing the sacrament or making an atoning sacrifice for mankind. But...I am here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ! And I plan on doing my very best at what I've been called to do! Even if I do have to take a nap instead of eating lunch.

Things that happened this week....where do we even start!

Tuesday we went to Taranto for zone conference! It was super good! We talked about how we can improve our teaching! I was a really big baby and cried during my death testimony..... I blame Grandpa Bill for the emotions. When I opened up my mission call...I cried. And I remember he came to me and said "it's okay! It just means that you are feeling the spirit". Then I cried some more when we sang the mission hymn. shoot.

Taranto zone

our district

Romie anz Kiser (new branch president!)

After zone conference we went to lungo mare (the boardwalk to the beach?) And we did a mostra! There is an anziano that does spray painting and he painted a picture and would give them away to people. It was super cool! Really successful.

Mostra

Wednesday before we went home Slla Pancheri gave me a haircut!

The bus ride home was exciting....
So about an hour into the ride the bus stopped for a 10 minute break. There was this little store that sold cheese...and usually places like that do sandwiches, so we went in and asked if they would make us a sandwich. She said no. But that she would give us 5 little mozzarella balls that we could snack on. So we said, okay! Well these 5 little mozzarella balls were actually 5 pretty big little mozzarella balls. And we had to eat them really fast or else the bus would leave us. We did really well...until we got home! Poor Slla Cluff was sick all night.

Another exciting bus story. So we got back on the bus after eating the mozzarella and they turned on this movie. At first it was just kinda this funny movie about old people picking out coffins...but then it started getting dirty. And I thought about how that same morning I read in the Liahona all of the stories about people standing up for what they believed. I was really tempted to just say that I would ignore the film and just read my scriptures....but I just couldn't get that liahona article out of my mind. It talked about all of these young adults that could have just let the things go, but instead they stood up for what they believed. I was really scared though because the whole bus would see me walk up and talk to the bus driver and then if he did turn it off they would know that it was me that asked.
We said a prayer. Asked for courage. Then walked up to the bus driver. This is how the conversation went....

me: "hi...uh....So I was wondering if we could turn the movie off. It's kinda dirty."
bus driver: "hahaha"
other people around him: "HAHAHAHA"
awkward moment of him looking at me like I'm stupid...
bus driver: "what do you want me to do? There is nothing else that I can turn on."
me: "Well....could we just not watch anything?" (with that little puppy dog look in my eyes that sometimes I do.)
bus driver: "sorry, but no..."
me: "okay"
then I look at him with this disappointed/puppy dog look.

I sat back down and opened up my scriptures and this is what I "happened" to turn to.

D&C 29:4-6
 4 Verily, I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump.
 5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom.
 6 And, as it is written—Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive.

Not joking...I read the verse and then look up and the tv screens are broken. Like grey and fuzzy broken. The bus driver fixes the tv... (I was a little bit sad again)...but then a few minutes later takes the disc out and turns off all of the tvs. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

For some reason I have no fear walking down the street and stopping people and asking them (in Italian) if they want to hear more about Joseph Smith....but when it comes to turning off a dirty film I get all scared.

We live in a world that thinks bad is good and good is bad.

Elder Holland said last general conference:
"Pure Christlike love flowing from true righteousness can change the world."

You may think that standing up for good doesn't do much. But it does. The only way for Satan to win is for us to do nothing. Even if it is something as little as turning off a bad movie, or resisting the temptation to gossip. True righteousness can change the world.

After we got off the bus we walked up to the bus driver and thanked him and invited him to look of mormon.org. And it wasn't even awkward! I could tell that it made an impression on him....why else would he have turned off the movie?

We all have in our mindset that sharing the gospel is inviting friends to meet with the missionaries or reposting an uplifting quote on facebook (two very great ways of sharing the gospel). But the best way to share the gospel is to live it! Stand up for what you believe. It might be scary at first, but just like the scripture says, God is in our mists and he will be our advocate for good! We say the words, and he opens the hearts.

Other exciting things...is that we taught some really cool lessons this week! Did some good work.

Well that's the exciting news of the week. I love you all! The church is true! And I am going to be eating lots of gelato this week!

Sorella Wiltbank