6th Week in Genoa

Dearly Beloved family,
Are you ready for this long letter?

  From the emails that I have received in the past few weeks, it seems that each one of us has our "mountains to climb" (Elder Eyring). Let us all continue to pray for one another and pray for the humility and strength to cheerfully submit to the will of the Lord.  I cannot put into words all that has happened recently but I will bear my testimony.

   First, I want to say, I am grateful for these hardships that we are facing. I really am, and I would not have it any other way. I know that Heavenly Father loves us greatly. He has handpicked each one of these situations that we are living.

   My testimony of the atonement has grown a lot within the past few days. I feel physically, emotionally and spiritually weaker than ever, but the Lord strengthens me every minute!!! Sorella McFadden told me an analogy that I like- there is a monkey inside each of our minds. If we don't keep it shut inside it's cage, it will run out and destroy everything in our house- it will pull out all the food in the fridge, break the china, rip up the couch, etc. As violent as this example is, it could really be compared to how self-destructive our thoughts can be.

I have been working extra hard to keep my thoughts focused and positive so that I can have faith and be peaceful. It takes a lot of concentration to not allow temptations and negative thoughts to come into my mind. I have felt discouraged and trapped this week, but with the help of my Savior, I have been able to find peace and feel the spirit in abundance. As you can tell, my brain is still scattered right now...

Recently, I was the recipient of a hurtful act in town. Here is the way that I handled it:  I concentrated all my efforts on imagining that I was in a different place. I imagined myself being in a silent, empty ballet studio that was cold, and I stood next to a piano. I could hear a beautiful peaceful arrangement of a hymn. I felt so free. I was almost there in that place. I felt the Spirit again and was ready to keep talking to others with a smile. I know that the power of Christ's Atonement made this possible.

  I have had several other experiences like this recently...it may sound crazy but they seriously saved my life.  I have come to the realization that my Savior is so merciful and compassionate in my behalf even though I am a sinner and I make so many mistakes. This forces me to let go of my pride and to love others unconditionally and overlook their weaknesses, as well as my own. I am grateful for all the opportunities there are every minute to serve others. To smile and salute people, to share the gospel. It helps me to stop thinking about my own problems and to be healed.

   Sorry, I know I am talking a lot about myself but I feel like I should share this other bus experience, maybe for Weylin's sake. After talking to three people who were not interested I tripped and dropped my Book of Mormon and whiteboard. I reached down and grabbed them and stumbled to go talk to someone else. One of the woman who had rejected me now stopped me. I will never forget the marvel in her face as she asked me, "Excuse me, why do you do this?" I felt like asking myself the same question. I was sweaty and tired and somewhat discouraged. I responded, "I don't know, because I know that this message is true. This book makes me happy." She said, "Do you somehow receive strength from God? How are you able to keep going? What is it about you that gives you the capacity to do this?" I was surprised with how open she was. She was speaking the words of her mind. I immediately felt the Spirit prompt me to bear testimony about the atonement. I said "I am so weak. But I know that Jesus Christ suffered for all of our sins, and temptations and pains and sadness...I cannot comprehend how He did it, but I know He did because through Him I am able to do more than I could on my own." She accepted a pass-along-card and got off the bus.

   I am sure that these things are more than applicable to all of us in our lives. We are all human, we are all simple and weak. There is much that the Lord has entrusted us with and it is through our experiences that we really understand how the atonement works. It would be great to sit in the temple all day and ponder the scriptures, but nothing could substitute for this earthly experience that the Lord permits us to have. It is a challenge, but it is the most wonderful time of growth!

  Sorella McFadden is transferring to Verona and Sorella Hanks is coming to Genova! I love Sorella McFadden. She has changed my life sooo much. I feel so good about what we did and became this transfer. I feel like we have been together for 6 months, we worked soo hard.

I love you all more than I can express. Keep the faith! Never lose sight of the blessings awaiting us. I love what mom wrote me a while back, "Dear, don't count the days. Count the blessings and miracles."

Love,
Sorella Oakes

5th Week in Genoa

Dear Family,

Sorella McFadden is a big Gem! She places a sticky note and a chocolate on my desk every morning. On the note she has written a simple compliment that builds me up, such as, "You follow the Spirit." or "You are a teacher." Throughout the day she serves me in a lot of other thoughtful ways. I am so grateful for her love for me and for her selflessness.

Member referral/finding miracle:

 Right after hopping on the last bus home, a beautiful woman turned her head and smiled at us. Immediately we began talking to her about her greatest desires and bore testimony of the restored gospel. Within two minutes we had talked, set up an appointment at her home and exchanged contact information. The bus halted to a stop in front of our home and we got off just in time. I felt really excited to meet Nataly again. Though we had not talked for long, there was something special about her.

Upon teaching her and her husband at their house, we discovered how much the Lord had prepared them to be interested in the restored gospel. There was no doubt that He had prepared a way for us to meet on the bus. Her husband Stalin met us at the door and gave us a warm welcome. We brought an amazing sister in our ward who has recently returned home from her mission. She made all the difference in befriending, bearing personal testimony, and making this couple feel comfortable to talk to us.
   
As we talked with Stalin and Nataly they told us about the friends and family they know who are church members. His cousin served a mission, and her best friend is a member in our ward...click! Sorella McFadden said, "Oh my goodness! You are THAT Nataly. Giovanna (the member in our ward) always wanted us to meet you but she was always too busy to show us where you lived. She just moved two weeks ago and I thought we had lost that opportunity to contact you. This is amazing!"

We were all happy because we knew that the Lord had wanted us to meet, and even though Giovanna had moved and never given us that referral, we met Nataly anyway. Both Stalin and Nataly expressed their desire to become closer to Christ and to fill a spiritual gap they feel in their lives. Stalin already has a copy of the Book of Mormon which a former missionary gave to him. When we challenged them to read the Book of Mormon for 15 minutes every day Stalin said, "No I can't do that..I want to read more so that I can understand it." Sorella McFadden and I laughed because we were happy and said, "Then go ahead and read more, by all means."

Needless to say, this beautiful couple has a lot of potential. The Lord has done much to guide them to Him thus far, and will continue to bless them according to their commitment and desire. They are amazing new investigators!

Yesterday we had interviews with President Wolfgramm and were instructed by our mission leaders. I especially loved the teachings of President and Sorella Wolfgramm. They told us that their personal desire/theme is to help, "...have the mission go through us" rather than to go through the motions of missionary work-- to let the principles we learn become a part of us. The outcome: to let our efforts purify and sanctify us forever. Sorella Wolfgramm talked about a principle taught by Steven Covey- letting our inner core be focused on Christ. As we strive to become like Him, to think about Him, our motivation to serve and work will grow. When we do the things we do every day with the purpose to follow Christ, we become more proactive, positive and confident. Anway, their words were so inspiring and changed my life.

Love, Sorella Oakes

4th Week in Genoa

Carissima Famiglia,

  This week was hard. Boo hoo woa is me, that's enough. But I will say that we worked harder than I ever have in my entire mission. Even though we were physically, emotionally and spiritually tired, we kept walking, talking to everyone, praying. We are working together and I am super grateful for Sorella McFadden's commitment. I know that our work will pay off. I learned a lot about humility and the sustaining power of being grateful. So I guess it was a successful week! Though we had some disappointments, we still saw our fair share of miracles!

Gioia is progessing well towards her baptism for 25th of September. She is soo sweet and her one year old son, Wisdom, is adorable! During one of the lessons he was tackling two other 5 year old kids. I was blown away with how strong he is. Haha, one miracle was when we prayed before our last lesson for Wisdom to be calm so we could have the spirit when we taught Gioia. When we arrived he was half asleep and Gioia put him in the other room and we had a peaceful quiet lesson. :)

Oh yeah! I have not told you yet..at the beginning of my mission, I did an exchange here in Genova with Sorella Simpkins. We talked to a young girl on the bus, I still remember our experience. Sorella Simpkins and her companion ended up teaching and baptizing her and her mother that transfer! Now they are new converts in our ward and I love them!!! The young girl, 17 years old, Keyla taught her mom's friend all about church and the restoration. We taught her friend twice last week and she is very interested in the church! It's amazing how much difference members make in awakening a desire in their elect friends. We are excited to see how Gloria, their friend, progresses in her Book of Mormon reading.

 Miracle from Scambio in Savonna- Sorella Jones taught me much about the value of asking inspired questions and listening to others. She asked me many questions about myself, and my desires, and she lovingly listened to me. From that I experienced what it feels like to be one of her investigators.
Her skills came in handy during a lesson with one of their progressing investigators. After we had finished teaching a lesson about the Word of Wisdom, Sorella Jones paused and asked, "Is there anything else? Do you have any questions or comments? How are you feeling?" This shy woman did not respond immediately, but after waiting for another 30 seconds she said hesitantly, "My brother does not like that I am coming to the Mormon church." After she had opened up to us and told us about that hardship, I bore testimony about how reading the Book of Mormon every day would strengthen her testimony and courage to stand up for herself. Then Sorella Jones asked another wise question. She said, "What can you do to help him understand? What do you think you should do?" I loved that question because it helped that investigator to think for herself what she could to do be a free-agent rather than to simply be acted upon. As she thought about what she could personally do to deal with the situation, she was probably more committed to follow through with it.

  I am grateful that Sorella Jones was so patient and loving with her investigator that she was sensitive enough to heed the promptings of the Spirit. Most, if not all the people with whom we work face problems that we as missionaries are not aware of. If we do not know what these obstacles are, we cannot help them solve their problems and continue to progress towards faith, repentance and baptism.

 I know that the Holy Ghost guides our work by prompting us to ask the right questions and to patiently listen to others. In this way they are able to feel our love and will open up to us and let us know how we can help.

I love you all! Shout out to Anziano Dean, I read your email! I will pray for Giorgio. Thanks for sharing that miracle.

 Sorella Oakes

3rd Week in Genoa

Dear Family,

We tried something that Anziano Barnes and Ibba did a few weeks ago- visualizing seven new investigators that we would find for the upcoming week. During weekly programming, we took a little extra time to think about their spiritual and temporal needs, their physical and spiritual characteristics.

 After lunch, we headed out to the park. After a half hour we found number one on our list. She met the following pre-inspired description- yellow shirt, single african woman who would readily understand the need for the Book of Mormon. Check. She was more than happy to set up an appointment at her house for that week. Fast forward a week, she has come to church and has a baptismal date!

Okay, let's go back to our finding experience at the park last Friday...after an hour, we saw a man sitting on a bench without shoes. We did not know why, but in planning the night before we knew we needed to find someone without shoes. As we approached and began a conversation with him, we were a bit confused because he was not making sense. It seemed as if he was high on drugs. After wrapping that up, we turned around and flash, Darwin walked towards us. We shook his hand and delivered our pre-planned power statement- "This life is an opportunity to change and become a better person." He immediately asked us to sit down with him on a vacant bench. Darwin opened up and said, "For a month I have not wanted to talk to anyone about this, but since I do not know you two I feel more comfortable talking about it. My wife and son left me because I have not treated them well. After they left, I've started to turn to God. I want to change and repent so badly." As he talked and cried you could feel his sorrow, and great desire to come to Christ....

I will not relate our entire experience but Darwin fit the perfect description of our second investigator on our list. As expected, he was a 35 year old man who needed the power of the Atonement in his life. We had a powerful lesson with him and a family in our ward yesterday.

These miracles bear testimony to me of the blessings that come from planning prayerfully and specifically. Heavenly Father is capable of guiding us when we were first show our desire to be prepared for who he places in our path. There is no doubt that He is guiding our planning and our work. He is helping Sorella McFadden and I to know His children on a deeper level.

Lots of love!
 
Sorella Oakes