9th Week in Genoa

Dearest Family,

  My heart is filled with love and gratitude. I have an amazing companion and the work is growing. We have a lot of new female investigators who are really interested in meeting us. Each day Sorella Hanks and I become more united in purpose and the spirit is truly guiding our every activity. During nightly planning we prayerfully decide where to do casa the following day. Within these past two weeks I have taught more first lessons in people's homes during findingwork than I ever have on my mission. Sorella Hanks expressed the same is true for her.  I never preferred knocking doors. I would rather do street or bus contacting, but I remember thinking in my head, "We'll do this because our leaders have counseled us to." NOW I am seeing why.

Haha, Friday night we knock on a door and yet ANOTHER sweet Romanian kid answered the door and let us in. We followed him into his living room of four other family members- his mom, sister, girlfriend, and cousin. They are all so humble and down-to-earth. I love them soo much. We taught them again yesterday. Our meeting them was surely an answer to our prayers, to get into a home and teach a family, and an answer to my prayer this past week to teach more young single adults. There are four of them! I hope they will let us come back again, and read the Book of Mormon we left them.

   I want to tell you about a beautiful Peruvian woman whom we are teaching. Her name is Fanny Fernandez. She has three young boys who live in Peru, and she takes care of elderly people here to send money home to her family. She has lived here for 7 years. She has a really hard life between a bad work environment and missing her family. As we talked to her, she only spoke words of faith and optimism, but her eyes continued to well up with tears. She was very excited to receive a Book of Mormon. When we invited her to be baptized she said, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" I was surprised with how happy she seemed about accepting a baptismal invite. She said, "I am very shy and do not like talking with people like you on the bus. But when Sorella Hanks looked at me and started talking with me, I felt something here," she pointed to her chest. She had felt the spirit, which helped her to feel comfortable enough to talk with us.

I have so much respect for Fanny. When I think about my mother and how hard it is for her to let my brother and me serve missions out of the country for two years, I realize that that sacrifice that we make is small compared to Fanny's life. Fanny said she will have to wait for another 5 or more years before she can save enough money to live with her boys. She is such a good woman, why is her life so hard? I do not know, but I am certain that everything is in the hands of the Lord. This gospel will bless her life immensely. I pray that her boss will let her come to church Sunday mornings. She was not able to come last week.

Well, I love you all very much. I pray for you daily. I know that when we serve others we are fulfilling our baptismal covenant to comfort those that stand in need of comfort, (Mosiah 18:8-10). As I have  tried harder to live my baptismal covenant,  I have felt the presence of the spirit more in my heart and feel love from Heavenly Father. I think that of all our goals, dreams and desires in life, more than anything, each one of us yearns to feel the love of God. I know that as we seek to love and take care of others, we will be filled with that love for them, and also will feel God's love and appreciation for us. We are His beloved children. He sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we can receive peace and strength in this life and return back to His presence pure and perfect. I know these simple things are true.
 
   Love,
   Sorellina Oakes