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
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