7th Week in Genoa

Dear family,

   This week has been great! Sorella Hanks is such a sweetheart, I feel so good being around her. Sorella Hanks is the perfect exemplar of "preaching the gospel of peace". When we contact people and teach investigators, she listens with her heart and soaks in what that person is saying. It has been wonderful to see how others respond and open up when we take a little extra time to listen to their opinions. I feel inspired to be a more attentive listener myself to her as well as others. I am learning a lot from her.

  Miracle!  Last night after the sorelle conference we decided to contact and set up an appointment with at least one person before we went in. President's little training about the "miracle fence" kept me hoping that we would find a potential investigator!  As we got closer and closer to home we contacted and contacted, and 10 minutes before 9 we talked with a South American couple. They did not seem interested, but when we asked them if we could come to their house this week they said yes!  L'ultimo sforzo brings blessings. We will not accept any less than hoping for, and even expecting miracles every day! We are going to make our dreams a reality here in Genova 2! This is the great and marvelous work of the Lord.

  We had an awesome district meeting on Monday. That morning I told Sorella Hanks, "We are doing everything in the manual, but how can we increase our faith that we can actually meet our goals, and baptize people?" I was befuddled. Well, in our meeting the zone leaders, Anziano Lenhart and Rodriguez gave an inspired training which answered our question! I will bullet point what I learned:
   -happy people tend to be more successful!
  -our habits affect our attitude. Meaning what we say, what we eat, exercise, thought processes, etc.
   -Keeping a gratitude journal (Remember, Remember by Elder Eyring) helps us recognize the Lord's hand in our lives
   -the difference between a puddle and a geyser is enthusiasm, haha
  -2 Ne 2:25 the purpose of life is to have joy. Enjoying life is a daily decision, regardless of the circumstance!

It was awesome and really pumped me up to be more grateful for the blessings we see each day. I know there is a lot of power in just putting a smile on each day. The Spirit is a lot more present in my life when I have a good attitude. I am grateful for all that Sorella Hanks is teaching me about enjoying each moment. She is like Mary and I am more like Martha, we both need each other to have the right balance of working hard AND having a happy attitude.
 
   Love,
   Sorella Oakes