18th Week in Cuneo-transfer to Varese tomorrow!

Ciao tutti!!!!!

My bags are all packed, the apartment is sparkling and I am heading to Varese tomorrow at five in the morning! I had no idea I would be leaving, but I received a call two days ago from President Wolfgramm. In fact, I will be whitewashing Varese (Sorella Walton and I will be the first sisters to serve there in years, if ever). It sounds like it is a small branch out in the mountains. I have heard from a few sources that it is beautiful and that there is no public transportation near by. We will take the bus from Milano to get there. Varese is right on the border of Germany, looks like it about less than a half an hour away. I am soooo excited for everything!!!! I have done a few exchanges with Sorella Walton and she is amazing! We are going to see so many miracles and turn the branch into a ward.

Sorella Willey will be training an incoming sorella, and she will be such a good trainer. It feels like we have served two transfers together because I have learned soo much from her. I will always cherish our friendship and what we experienced in Cuneo. I feel complete peace and confidence in her to move the work forward here in Cuneo.

I hope all is well with you back home. You sound like you are having wonderful missionary experiences and learning and growing as well. Thank you for your examples to me!

I would like to tell you about one of the ward's new converts, Peter Kofi. He is from Ghana. He was baptized by the sorelle about five months ago. It is incredible to see his growth in the gospel in the past few months, and how the Lord is using him to accomplish so much in our branch in Cuneo. He was just called to be a ward missionary, and the new Gospel Principles teacher. Even though it is a bit hard for him to speak Italian, he is not afraid of anything. He has the biggest smile in the world and loves serving other people. He will be a big influence in bringing new people into the church.

It is amazing to see the ripple effects due to the sorelle a few transfers ago. I know that each person who fulfills their calling with all their heart CAN and DOES indeed have a big influence in the kingdom of God, where ever they may be.

All my prayers and love,

Sorella Oakes

17th Week in Cuneo

Dearest Family,

I want to tell you about one of the most beautiful experiences I have had on my mission thus far. I know that I do not need to worry about it now, but from the things I have been seeing lately, I know that it would be very satifsying to be a marriage counselor.

A month ago, we were calling several different potentials in the area book to set up appointments. Sorella Willey began calling an old investigator Cristina. As she was talking to her on the phone, I remembered who she was. I yelled with my face, "No!!!! Do NOT set up an appointment with her!!!" and waved my hands in the air. But it was too late. Sorella Willey wrapped up the conversation and sweetly said, "Have a good night Cristina, we'll see you Tuesday evening."

Sorella Ryan and I had stopped teaching Cristina and her inactive boyfriend a month ago. After living a life filled with trials, mistakes and serious sins, they were absolutely miserable and discouraged. After a while, we concluded that neither of them had the desire or faith to change their life or to repent. To say the least, it was a big weight off my shoulders when we stopped meeting with them.

Even though I did not meet want to meet with them again, Sorella Willey and I had agreed to just meet once. I am so glad that we did! We have been working with them for the past three weeks and it has been one of the most incredible experiences on my mission thus far.

The first time that we met with them, I could immediately see and feel a change in Cristina. She was more clean in appearance and happy. She expressed that after not seeing the missionaries and going to church for a month, she missed the Spirit, and felt that she needed to change her life. The following day she attended Osagie's baptism and later recounted to us that she felt at home and desired to be baptized as well. Talk about the perfect timing of the Lord! What if Osagie had been baptized a month earlier, as previously planned?

Ever since then, we have poured our prayers and efforts into planning inspired lessons to meet their needs and build their hope. I am so grateful for the faith and love of Sorella Willey. She loves our investigators so much, and it makes all the difference. Cristina now has a baptismal date for March 3rd, they have both stopped smoking, taking drugs and drinking. Their house is all cleaned up with pictures of Christ and baptism pasted on every wall and mirror. They faithfully keep every commitment, and Cristina is now understanding and loving the Book of Mormon. I cannot believe how much they are changing! We have still not figured out how we are going to help them to obey the law of chastity. She has to wait three years before her divorce is finalized. Though many obstacles remain, they have already accomplished many impossibilities. Sorella Willey and I feel peace with continuing forward.

My faith in the Lord as well as in others has grown soo much. I myself have repented through working with Cristina and Salvatore. Now, my heart is full of love for them. I have never felt love like this before, as I once thought, they had been "a waste of time". Thanks to both Sorella Willey and Sorella Ryan I have learned on my mission that when you are being obedient and working hard, there is no such thing as "a waste of time"/effort. Shame on me. Every person is a beloved child of God, and they have potential to change and repent. I now have much more hope in myself and others. Hope in Christ and in the power of His atonement. Through Him, all things ARE possible. On my mission, there have been "elect" people placed in our path who are ready and already practically worthy to be baptized. While these meetings are incredible and bring me happiness, I now see how repentance is the greatest miracle. There is great, great joy in the sinner who repents, and God loves them so much! We are sinners, but through the mercy of Christ, we can become pure and forgiven.

xxxxx000000 Love,

Sorella Oakes

Milan Mission Blog

View a beautiful video put to Josh Groban's, "Thankful" posted at Christmas on the Milan Mission Blog! Truly, there's so much to be grateful for as we see the people join the Church in the Milan, Italy Mission.

16th Letter from Cuneo

Dear Loved Ones,

David received the Priesthood Sunday! It is wonderufl to see him progress, and to hear Osagie bear his testimony in Italian to our new investigators. They are both growing in their testimonies.

Sorella Willey and I felt a prompting to do casa in a particular place in Cuneo. As we rode our bikes down a certain street I said, "I feel like they are going to be on the left side of the street". She thought for a moment and then said, "Me too!" Usually, we do not receive very specific inspiration about where to do finding work (you just have to have faith and go to work!)...but it always exciting to feel like there is a certain person in particular who the Lord is leading you to that day. We rang on a few citifonos, and one woman let us in. She opened the door with a timid smile on her face. When we saw that she was cleaning we offered to help. She opened the door wide open and let us in! She said, "Sit down, sit". As we sat down at her kitchen table, I felt the prompting to ask if we could immediately say a prayer. She said, "How about you say the words and I will repeat after you". Wow! I cannot describe how beautiful the spirit was as we said a prayer together. She was as humble and teachable as a child. As we taught her the first lesson she accepted everything with open heart. She even cried several times and said, "How can I ever repay you! Thank you for coming here tonight. I feel so distant from my Heavenly Father and I am sad. I want to change certain things in my life". At one point during the lesson she even interrupted and said, "I want to tell you right now that I am inviting myself to meet with you again, and I am going to come to your church when you have service". It was as if she was commiting herself before we had time to ask her the questions. I have never met someone so prepared and eager to learn about the gospel. One of her sons was there during the lesson, and he was a bit of a distraction to the Spirit, but if he had not been there, I am confident that she would have accepted a baptismal date. As Sorella Willey and I rode our bikes home, we truly felt to sing the song of redeeming love (Alma 5). I have never been so happy in my entire life. This is but one of the miracles that the Lord has blessed us with this week.

Love,

Sorella Oakes

15th Letter from Cuneo

Dear Family,

Osagie's baptism was absolutely peaceful, smooth, simple, and wonderful. So many were busy around the holidays that we prepared a simple quick service. When Osagie came out of the water, he took in a deep breath, wiped off his wet face and just beamed. He later told us that "I got another testimony." The best part of that night was when he bore his testimony. He walked up to the little pulpit, reached in his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and read his prepared testimony, and Sorella Willey translated in Italian. I had no idea how much he has been converted. His testimony was so powerful and sincere and no one in the room could doubt it. He said, "I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet because when I read about his history or his words, I just know. Every time I read the Book of Mormon I feel as if I was there, and I was living the stories. I know that it is the word of God. I know this is the true church of Christ on the Earth." Wow. I am so happy that he is immersing himself in the Book of Mormon. I am glad that he was not baptized sooner. He could have been, but it was just beautiful.

The next day one of our ward members, Carlos Ciccio, gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost and I am sure that the Spirit helped him to say everything in English. Osagie has experienced a change of heart and is so pleased. You could describe his countenance as "content." Haha, during our last lesson with him he told us, "I think that I am going to be an apostle someday." And yes, he is serious. Who knows, that would be really neat! Only Heavenly Father knows.

(Sorry, cut and pasted again from the letter to my Mission Pres.)

My companion has the faith of a giant. Despite any obstacle that we face, she has confidence that the Lord will grant anything she prays and works for. She always focuses on the positive side of the situation and does not let herself get discouraged. My faith has grown so so much by being with her. There was one experience this week that had a great impact on me. One night I had a terrible nightmare and awoke crying. She turned on the light, invited me over to her bed and held me. She suggested we read from the scriptures for a little bit, and then we said a prayer. The next morning in personal study she found a chapter in the scriptures and shared it with me. She said, "This chapter was written just for you Sorella Oakes". We read it together and I cried, but this time, my heart was full of love and gratitude for my companion and for the Lord.

2. MIRACLE: Describe one miracle that occurred this past week; something that increased your awareness that God is directing your work:

Last week, during nightly programming, both Sorella Willey and I felt inspired to do some finding work in Piazza Europa the next morning. Upon arriving, I saw this man sitting on a bench and felt the urge to talk to him. His back was turned to us but as we sat down next to him he seemed familiar. It was Omar! A contact we had made a few weeks earlier, but who would not respond to our phone calls. As we listened to him, he began to pour out his soul to us. He expressed strong desire to make some kind of a "spiritual step" in his life to come closer to Christ, but he did not know how to get there. He told us that despite all of his prayers and studies in the Bible, he felt like something was missing in his life. The Spirit helped us to teach a powerful first lesson, we invited him to baptized on the 28th of January and he accepted. We walked to the church, and as he walked inside he said, "I felt something really special here." We knelt and said a prayer and invited him to join us at Osagie's baptism.

From then on, everything has run as smoothly as molasses. Omar is one of those golden souls whom every missionary would dream to teach. He has been prepared by the Lord to receive our message, keeps his commitments and is preparing for his baptism. Each time that we meet him he seems to have changed even more. His face is softer, you can see the gratitude in his eyes and his deep testimony. I know that Omar is a tender mercy that the Lord has sent us because of all the times that we struggle and continue on in the work, even if it is hard.

In spite of all of the obstacles that we have experienced in the past week, I am grateful for the conversion that I am experiencing with my companion, and for the beautiful people that the Lord places in our lives. These moments are even more sweet and beautiful because they are in the midst of the struggles.

Love,

Sorella Oakes

14th Letter from Cuneo

Dear Family,

It was soo wonderful to talk to you Christmas day! Words cannot express how much each one of you means to me. I will respond to personal questions via letters, I will send them out today.

Some quick updates about David and Osagie! David is remaining really strong in the gospel, and his mom is attending church every week. We have been having a few family home evening appointments with various members and our branch president had all of us over for Christmas eve. It was beautiful. They sent us home with a huge box of food.

Osagie is reading the Book of Mormon every day and loves it! In two days he read ten chapters. He is excited about bearing his testimony in Italian at his baptism. With the holidays it has been hard to get different ward members to come with us to his lessons, but for now he has Peter and Fratello Termini as really great friends. Christmas Day Jose Ciccio and their huge family invited the three of us, Sorella W and I, plus Osagie over for lunch. They are very loving to him and he had a good time. It is beautiful to see how the gospel is changing him and opening him up. His baptism on Saturday will be beautiful. We will see how many people can come, but there will at least be a few.

1. GEM: Describe one thing your companion did for you this last week that made you want to be a better missionary:

Sorella Willey has taught me so much about patience. She is very thoughtful about all those around her. She yields for people walking on the street when we are riding our bikes, smiles and says, "prego". She can listen to people talk for fifteen minutes during the lessons without interupting them and just shows her concern and love in her eyes. All of these little things have made a big impression on me. I realize how much I can work on to really show others how much I care...about THEM. At the end of an exhausting day, Sorella Willey does not forget to show how she cares for me.

If I could describe Sorella Willey in one word, it would be SOLID. She has her priorities straight! Her first commitment is to her Heavenly Father, then to her mission president and then to me. It is very easy to get along with her because she is forever loyal to those around her.

2. MIRACLE: Describe one miracle that occurred this past week; something that increased your awareness that God is directing your work:

After three days of traveling across Northern Italy, Sorella Willey and I were tired, hungry and ready to head home to Cuneo. While waiting for the train the Milano station, we were sitting next to a man and I felt a prompting to talk to him. I did not particularly want to, but I remembered the phrase "Be a forever finder" from the new personal growth standards page. I looked at the pizza box on my lap, my stomach growled... "Ciao! Come sta Lei?" flew out of my mouth. The hardest part was over. After a few minutes of casual conversation, we found out that this man had once had a girlfriend who was a strong member of the church. He was incredibly open to learning more about the gospel, we placed a Book of Mormon in his hand and gave his number to the missionaries in his city. Mmm that pizza tasted so much better when I got on the train. A few minutes later the Spirit prompted me to talk to a couple sitting nearby. "Ahh, not again!" I thought. I had talked to many people all day and thought that I had done enough. Haha, sometimes I need to be more humble and stop resisting the promptings of the Spirit. My heart burned more and more the longer I waited. Once we finally started a conversation, they were super open too and we got their number as well. To say the least, the next train we got on, we found one more young women and taught her a lesson. The Spirit blesses us with tons of opportunities, as long as we are willing to allow Him to lead us to the miracles!

Love,

Sorella Oakes

13th Letter from Cuneo

Dear Family,

Sorry that I am writing a few days sooner than you expected. Sorella Willey and I are traveling for a few days so we figured that we would get right back to work in Cuneo on Wednesday rather than have our P-day on Wednesday. We are in Verona for a day to get her permesso renewed, then we will travel through Milano and Modena tomorrow to attend another area's Zone Conference....because our area's Zone Conference is scheduled during a very important ward Christmas Concert in Cuneo on Friday....long story.

Alright, a little about Sorella Willey... she is from Pleasant Grove, played the cello in the Mormon Tabernacle Orchestra, graduated in cello performance and is considering getting her Masters in Religion. She has such a deep knowledge of the scriptures and history and religion...or of any subject because she has taken so many college classes and loves to read. She attended BYU and USC, actually, so you might recognize her face from Stake Conference. She knows Tujunga.

I absolutely love having conversations with her because I learn so much. I cannot get enough of it. She is 25 years old, very mature...haha, sometimes I laugh because she has a habit of coming up with cheesy puns during the day. Sometimes it seems like she is ten or twenty years older than me, but it is a privilege to work with her. We are going to have a super productive...busy transfer!

Sorella Willey is one of the hardest working missionaries I have ever met. She is strictly obedient to the mission rules, and gives her heart to all with whom she associates. She has the best intentions, and is constantly trying to be helpful to me as her sister and as a missionary. Like Sorella Ryan, I will learn a lot from her, and her influence is helping me to reach my full-potential. It is incredible how the Lord increases our capacity over time. I am so excited about all the opportunities that life gives me to grow and learn. It is an endless quest of changing and repenting. I am glad that it never has to end, as long as we desire to improve ourselves.

We have seen soo many miracles within the past few days. David's mom came to church on Sunday for his confirmation. It was beautiful. Rosie, David's mom, remained for Gospel Principles and Relief Society. She could not help but smile the entire three hours. Everyone was so warm and loving to her and she felt the Spirit really strongly. She will be baptized, if not now, in the future. David is as strong as ever, and when he bears his testimony in lessons or in the classes in church, everyone is edified. His mom cannot help but be impressed and interested in the gospel. We will have a lesson with her, David and a good sister in our ward.

Saturday night, as we were returning home on the bus Sorella Willey and I both had separate conversations with two golden contacts. Sorella Willey taught a lesson to a beautiful Romanian woman and set up an appointment later this week.

I talked to a man named Domenico. He, like most of our investigators is an older single man, haha. Sorella Willey says that she has taught a lot more men on her mission than women, so it seems to be a trend. That made me feel more at ease. 

Domenico was not who I expected him to be. He reads the Bible every night and goes to church to worship almost every day. He hosts a Christmas dinner for homeless people every year and seems to be very service oriented. Domenico was so open and friendly, saying all the perfect things to me that I was not sure if he was for real. As I continued to talk to him about Christ, and share with him about the Restoration, Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, he seemed to eat it up. After we got off the bus, he walked for twenty minutes with us and Peter to the church so we could get him a Book of Mormon in Italian. We asked him to read and pray about Alma 32, said goodnight, an hour later he called us and said, "I read all of Alma 32. It was very interesting. What time does your mass start again?" He traveled forty minutes by train early in the morning on Sunday, stayed for all three hours of church and loved it. He is excited to meet with us again. I cannot believe how the Lord placed him in our path. I have never met someone so ready for the gospel before.

One other funny story from Saturday afternoon. While doing finding work a few days ago, we met two great potentials, both of them named Omar, one right after the other. Incredibly ironic. We encountered Omar 1 in a Palazzo, he was very open and willing to meet with us again and while on the way home, I felt prompted to stop another young man, who turned out to be Omar 2. He was very humble and golden as well. Two hours later, while leaving town on the bus with Peter, we asked Peter if he knew the second Omar, because he is African. He said he knew him and that he was a great guy, and right then we saw him on the street waiting for the bus, standing right next to the other Omar. They were both looking different ways, and don't know each other at all. Haha, it was just incredibly ironic and funny how it all worked out. We will pray that they will continue to progress and meet with us.

One thing that I have learned thus far while working with Sorella Willey is how exact exact obedience to the white handbook pays off. We have been meeting so many golden people, and miracles happening multiple times a day. I know that we could not ever have this kind of success alone, without prayer and giving all of ourselves to the work.

I pray for each one of you every night. I am working hard so that God will continually pour out more blessings upon you. Thank you for all your love and support.

Sorella Oakes