17th Letter from Varese

Carissima Famiglia,
 
I wish I could write you in Italian...Let me tell you about some of the amazing events of this week!

Sander was baptized last Saturday! His mother's companion Massimo agreed to let him be baptized. He remained outside in the car during the baptism and the first two hours of church the next morning, but he joined us for the second part of the third hour- Sacrament Meeting. We have been praying so hard for him each day, to have his heart softened, and to accept the gospel. It was a big miracle that he came into the church, even if it was for a half hour. Sorella Mcnamara and I also set up an appointment with him yesterday when we went to teach Sander at their house!

   The baptism was so peaceful. There were only a few people in attendance, but the Spirit was abundant. Everyone expressed their love for and support of Sander. It is beautiful to witness the beginnings of little Sander's conversion. He has read 1 and 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon on his own. He reads for a half hour each day and soaks in everything that he reads. His testimony is so strong and independent right now, being only 11 years old. It is exciting to think about the good things that are in store for his future. We are already seeing the blessings that his faith is bringing to his family now- his mom being reactivated, his two little sisters making a primary class, and his "step dad" beginning to show interest in the gospel. What an incredible missionary Sander will be! He will have a burning testimony and knowledge of the Book of Mormon, and will convert so many others. How great is one soul in the sight [work] of God.

  Pass-along-card miracle... I imagine that there are so many more experiences like this, but you rarely find out about them. Remember Carina? The sweet Peruvian woman who will have a baby and wants to be baptized? We have continued to teach her the lessons and have been preparing her for the 2nd of June. When we entered her house for the first time last week, we noticed a pass-along-card (the one with Christ's face) on top of her shelf in her living room, crumpled, and sitting next to pictures of Jesus and her family. We asked her about it. She said that Sorella Walton gave it to her months ago in the bus. There was one evening when Carina was feeling really depressed and helpless. She came so close to calling our number and asking us to come teach her. But then she thought, "Maybe God will help us to meet again."   When she told us that I thought, "Why didn't you call us!!!!" She needs to be baptized so badly, and to receive the aid and comfort of the Holy Ghost. But everything happens in the right timing of the Lord, right?

Sorella Mcnamara and I met and talked with her again, thanks to Heavenly Father. I had forgotten all about her, I do not remember her face or ever meeting her in the past... anyway, I know the Lord guides our work. Her words were a real testimony builder to me of the importance of talking and giving pass along cards to everyone that we can. I wonder how many others are in her same situation.

Well, there is not time to relate her situation right now. In a few words she is going to move back to Peru this week, she told us she wanted to get baptized this Thursday and one hour before her interview she called us and told us she feels nervous and she wants to wait to get baptized. I have no idea what to do, but we are taking it one day at a time. We feel this incredible peace with the work and in the power of the Lord. Will you keep her in your prayers? The adversary surely tries his hardest to tempt investigators right before baptism.

Update- Richie is the most awesome investigator! He is getting baptized on the 2nd of June, and we love him to death. He is our Nigerian brother! He is going to be a fantastic missionary.

Vi voglio tantissimo bene!

Con tanto affetto dal mio cuore,
   
Sorella Oakes

16th Letter from Varese

Dear Family,

Let me just tell you that Sorella Mcnamara is awesome! She is speaking the language with me all throughout the day, even when we are inside the house. I remember SYLing being mentally and emotionally exhausting for me during my first transfer in the mission. But Sorella Mcnamara is determined to improve and be her best, and has a deep desire to support me as her companion.  We are working side by side. I do not feel like she is dragging the work down in the least bit. It is very apparent that the work has skyrocketed ever since she came into town. Her enthusiasm to improve herself and to become selfless inspires me. She "GEMS" me every day!

We did splits yesteday with Sorella Padulla and Sorella Jacobsen. And afterwards we did cartwheels. Funny. Talk about a powerhouse companionship!!! I have never had such an instructive, uplifting, effective, spiritual scambio (Blitz). As a result of their constant SYLing,(Speak your language)  laughing, desire to serve and love us, Sorella Mcnamara and I became better missionaries. We taught many lessons, gave two solid baptismal invites, and even set another baptismal date with one of our new investigators! Miracles were exploding all over Varese yesterday. I am confident that over a hundred people were affected by the Spirit.

For the last half hour of our time together, we sat in our living room and discussed what we had learned together and offered suggestions to the other companionship about how they could improve. It was very helpful and uplifting. It is incredible to witness the power that two 21 year old women who love the Lord and devote all of themselves to His service can do together.

Sorella Jacobsen is from Salt Lake, she has a rather quiet personality, but has no problem approaching and talking to people she does not know. She is very obedient to the teaching the simple doctrines of Preach My Gospel, but also follows the Spirit in using her own words and normal language to relate to people, as they are. I learned a lot from her in that respect. She helped me to talk to people in a more informal, haha you could say, "normal" way. I did not even realize it, but sometimes I can become a little too intense and forget to just relax and let the Spirit do its job. She also taught me a lot about just opening my mouth and speaking without thinking too hard about what I am going to say next. It really made a difference as we continued to approach people and I tried following her advice. I also felt the Spirit more myself.

  Sorella Padulla is an Argentinian fireball. She had a big scholarship to sing opera at a university, but felt the Spirit call her to serve a mission. She followed the prompting immediately, learned Italian and English really well in the MTC in Spain and speaks better than most of us missionaries who have been out in the field for a while. This is her second transfer in the field, but you would never know it! She is super talkative, huggy and constantly thinking of others. I was most impressed with her prayers. I cannot even express how heartfelt, beautiful and powerful they were. I began to understand how the Nephites felt in 3 Nephi 17:16-17 " The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard before, so great and marvelous things..." when Jesus prayed for them. I know I am going on and on about these sisters, but I cannot even tell you how they have impacted my life. I pray to be like them.

 I feel so weak in my capacity, more than ever, but in a good way, I think. I cannot believe why we are having so much success in the work right now, but all I know is that is not by our own power! We could never do it all on our own. All I can say is that we are trying to improve, to be 100% obedient, to forget all our personal affairs at home and to do our best. I feel like a tiny crab trying to move a wall. It's incredible, the "wall" is moving. The Lord is moving it. I am so grateful for the goodness of God and my companion.

All my love,

Sorella Oakes

15th Letter from Varese

Cara Famiglia,
 
 Grazie Mille for sending me Elder Oakes' letter! I am thrilled that he baptized that Jurassi and that he is excited about transferring to BH. When you get the pics please forward them to me as well.

   This has week has been a bit like a rollercoaster. Everything was prepared for Sander's baptism, he was ready and excited. I cannot relate the details, but literally five minutes before the baptism some things happened, it was the most dramatic and intense event of my mission, and he was not baptized. He is worthy in every way and could have been baptized, but there are a few family issues to resolve first. You know, as unexpected as it all was, Sorella Mcnamara and I felt peace. I felt more prepared to handle something like this because of my experience at Osagie's first baptism when he did not show up in Cuneo. I feel like I can relate to Elder Oakes' experiences and realize that there are things that are out of our control. In the end, the important thing is that we have done our part, the Lord does His, and eventually the elect will get baptized even though Satan will do all he can to stop it. The work will go on, and we must have patience. Without saying details, please pray that Sander and his mom will continue to come to church and not be offended. They really need our prayers. We are going to play basketball with Sander today. He is such a good solid kid.

    On the up side, I need to tell y'all about one of the most amazing people! Out of all the people that I have met in my life, I have never met anyone quite like Carina. She is from Peru and we got her phone number on the bus last week and set up an appt.  While we were taking the bus to the church together, she told us of all of her heartaches and trials that she is facing.

   When she saw Sorella Walton on the bus a while back, she remembered her two brothers in Peru, who are members of the church. She remembered the counsel that they had given to her to come to Christ and investigate the church. For some reason Carina did not talk to Sorella Walton, but now, weeks or months later she accepted to meet with Sorella Mcnamara and me.

   After Carina had explained her situation to us, we asked, "What are your expectations of us as missionaries?" She broke down crying and said, "I want to have a change of heart. I have made so many mistakes in my life, and I hope...I hope that you can help me come to my Savior. Teach me all that you know, I want to know everything. If this is the right thing I will come to church every week and change my life." Sorella Mcnamara and I bore our testimonies of the power of the atonement and the healing of the Savior. We felt the strongest desire to teach her the gospel, and to help her be baptized. She readily accepted the invitation as well as a date. Since then, she has come to church, Book of Mormon in hand and sincere questions in mind to ask us. I cannot express how good I felt when she said at Sander's baptism, "I have read the chapters you left me, and it gives me peace. I feel so much better than I have in a long time." There is power in the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Christ. Carina's story has surely strengthened my testimony of the Savior and His power.

Let me tell you, I love working with Sorella Mcnamara! She is so driven, so humble and hardworking. Our investigators really feel the Spirit when she bears her testimony. She has so much to give already. Her language is picking up and I feel like we are working well together. I do not feel like her trainer anymore.

I AM SO EXCITED TO TALK TO MOM AND DAD MOTHER'S DAY. Can't wait to hear your voices. You have so much to relate to me. In the meantime, vi voglio benissimo!
 
Con affetto,
   
Sorella Oakes

14th Letter from Varese

Dear Family,
 
What an awesome week! I love being a missionary.  My companion is wonderful.  Punto.

We set two baptismal dates, two days in a row!!! One is for Richie, a Nigerian we met on the street this week, and Luca, the best friend of Gabrielle (an awesome member in our ward). I would like to expound a little bit about our experience with Richie. When we taught him his first lesson at the church, we came to see how prepared and elect he really is. He is always smiling, he is pure and very sensitive to the spirit. He has the Bible practically memorized and loves Christ with all his heart. As we taught him, he listened intently and ate up all that we said. He accepted a baptismal date for June 2nd. When we asked him what he would do to prepare for baptism, he responded, "I need to share this book with all of my friends, and invite them to church." We laughed, agreed and also advised him to read and gain a testimony of the book first.

When he went home that night he read the Introduction and first 7 chapters of the Book of Mormon. When we met him at the bus stop to go to church, he was wearing a beautiful bright blue African shirt, wooden necklace and nice pants. He had a notebook, pencil and his Book of Mormon. He looked sharp! We were really impressed with how prepared and excited he was to learn and to seek revelation in church. Richie thanked us for the Book of Mormon, and related to us the story of Nephi better than we could have done.

We were a little nervous to bring him to our branch on Sunday, based upon some negative experiences our members have had with African converts in the past. Contrary to our expectations, Richie was welcomed by the members with open arms! Some members who had served their missions in England translated for him in Sacrament meeting and Gospel Principles class. After church was over he knew half the members and a group of young single adults encircled him and invited him to the YSA FHE in Milano that night. After Sorella Mcnamara and I finished talking with some other investigators, we approached Richie and his friends and said, "We are going to go home now."  He smiled and said, "That's okay, I am going home with them! We will talk on the phone later."  Haha! That made Sorella Mcnamara and I so happy! We are counting on Richie being a strong and active member of the church after his baptism because of the members' support and his love of the Book of Mormon.

   After we set our baptismal date with Luca and as we were getting ready for bed,  Sorella Mcnamara and I said to each other, "Let's just make this a habit. Each day we will set a baptismal date, okay?!" Haha, we feel like the promises of the Lord are real- the field is white, all ready to harvest. Yes, even here in Varese Italia.

Sander is getting baptized Saturday! He and his mother are doing so well. It will be a beautiful experience.

 Sorry I did not have a lot of time to write this week.
 
Sending my amore to you all,
   
Love ,
       
Sorella Oakes

13th Letter from Varese

Ciaody Family!

   Hello from cloud nine here in Varese! Sorella Walton is in a three some in Pordenone by Slovenia. I pray she is doing well.  Sorella Mcnamara is my amazing comp! She comes from Provo Utah and attended Timpview High School. We did not know each other in high school but we were at all the games together- I was playing in the pep band and she was a cheerleader. She wants to say hello to Allie Edgington from the Miss Provo pageant! She studied three years of art history at the Y. Sorella Mcnamara is absolutely gorgeous, intelligent, driven, and tells me that we need to laugh more. Any tips? I have not realized it before now, but I take myself too seriously sometimes. Sorella Mcnamara said something I really liked, "I want to be 100% obedient to the mission rules and work hard...but if we are not having fun we are not doing this right."   So my question for y'all is how does one laugh more?  Haha, I have actually started praying for that ability. I never felt like I lacked before my mission, but I want to get better at it now. Our faith skyrockets when we are super enthusiastic in our work.

   Well I am just learning so much from Sorella Mcnamara. I even learned how to pronounce her name right, in Italian and in English!  Wow, I had noooo idea how much I would learn training. I have absolutely no time to think about myself. It is great. I am constantly thinking about assisting and teaching my companion, obeying all the rules, being optimistic about the work, speaking the language as best I can...she copies EVERYTHING I do. We are coming closer and closer to sharing equal responsibilities and working together as she becomes more comfortable with talking during our lessons, contacting people on the street and updating the area book.

     Let me tell ya'll, the work is exploding! I have never had so much success or seen so many miracles here in Varese as I have within the past few days. We teach 5 to 7 quality lessons a day, and have some awesome new investigators. Sorella Mcnamara has so much enthusiasm and faith. She cannot get over the beauty of the buildings, the snow capped swiss mountains, the Italian style of clothing. She is also very sincere and loving when it comes to our investigators. She is on the mission for the right reasons and it is very easy to be her companion. The thing that I appreciate the most about her is how she humbly accepts correction regarding Italian things. She studied two semesters at the Y, and so she knows quite a bit, but she is very timid. As we plan out our lessons, we decide who is going to teach each point, and when...in this way we teach together and she feels a lot more prepared and confident in teaching. All I can say is that I am grateful for the tips of Preach my Gospel and the new 12 week training program. It is super helpful for her as well as me. So, I will be here in Varese for two more transfers, and chances are I will then go to a new city.

   As far as the work goes, Sander is progressing a lot. We gave him the Book of Mormon book with the immages for children last week, and when we returned four days later he had read about 60 pages! He loves it, and has an amazing capacity to remember all that he read. He recounts to us the stories as if he memorized them. He and his mom and little sisters are attending church and we are looking forward to his baptism May 5.

  Yesterday's miracle... we found this man sitting on a bench named Marco. He was very open to talking to us from the get go. He said, "You guys are Mormon aren't you? I met two other young men in a bus in my hometown in Iceland."  Iceland! What the?! He pulled out some pamphlets from some different religions from his bag. He continued to say, "Actually, I am here visitng my parents, and today I have just been walking around and reading these materials about Christ. I am so frustrated! They do not make any sense to me, they contradict one another. Why are the things of God so complex? I am Catholic by birth, but I do not know if I believe in my religion. I have so many questions that I want answered."  Sorella Mcnamara and I were blown away by his electness! We exclaimed with joy, "We can answer your questions! God loves us so much that he has revealed his simple truths. Have you ever heard about the Book of Mormon?..."  The Spirit bore testimony to him as we explained about the Book of Mormon and he read Moroni 10:3-5. We asked him how he felt. He responded, "I feel kind of relieved when this verse talks about the role of the Holy Ghost. There are so many men who try to convince me through their own knowledge and words, but I need to feel in my heart the truth. Only the answers come from God." He then asked, "Do I pay you to get this book?" We laughed and said, "It's yours!" Usually we wait to give contacts the Book of Mormon at our return appointment but he was clinging on to it like gold and he wanted to read it. We set up an appointment at the church and left him a chapter to read and pray about.
   
   I cannot describe the joy Sorella Mcnamara and I felt as we talked with him. After he walked away we ran behind a building, huddled together and said a heartfelt prayer of gratitude. We hugged and jumped for joy! I cannot deny that the Lord places people in our path in the right place and at the right time. I am so grateful to Him for these wonderful experiences he allows us to have on Earth while on a mission. That little bench in busy Centro Varese will always be a sacred place for us.

  Love you all so much!
   Sorella Oakes

12th Letter from Varese

Dear Family,

I am going to train!!!! Soo excited. President told me that there are two new sorelle coming in and from what he read about them they are both "dynamite." I can just feel that she is going to be an outstanding missionary. I am going to learn so much these next two transfers. I want to be the best I can for her and help her be the best missionary the Milan mission has ever seen. Too bad it's not appropriate to jump and dance in the Internet cafe, because I would like to right now.

Wow, Sorella Walton and I have become soo close. I feel like she really is my blood sister. She is going to Pordenone (I think that's how it's spelled), in a threesome. She is a bit nervous about having to coordinate with two companions, but I know both of her comps fairly well and they are awesome. I think they'll be able to figure out how to divide the lessons up and be patient with one another.

Sorella Walton and I have done so much together here--we figured out the bus system; after months of scrubbing, the tub has gone from black to almost white; we met and taught some incredible people whom we will always love. I feel like we have done what we needed to do together, and she has left Varese better than she found it. I am soo grateful to have lived and worked and learned from her. She was a wonderful missionary two transfers ago, now she is even more powerful. I am grateful that we learned how to be completely open with each other, and to push ourselves to make goals and to overcome our personal weaknesses. I have learned a lot with her about strict obedience, about speaking Italian and being 100% missionary (Sorella Oakes) rather than Quincy, and I have learned the power of heartfelt prayers. Sorella Walton has really blessed my life.

Okay, it is time to relate some miracles! First off, about all of our weekly numbers were higher than they ever have been here in Varese. President Wolfgramm has told us that the numbers are a reflection of our work. And behind all those numbers, there are people who are progressing in the gospel. People we care about.

Remember Gabrielle? He is a member in our ward who has been coming with us to the lessons every week since we have been here. He has recently been helping us translate and type up our ward mission plan. It is a very simple plan that encourages members to extend a gospel invite each week. As I talked about a few weeks ago, Gabrielle has experienced an incredible change of heart through our experiences with him. He has given us four awesome referrals--his best friends. They trust him so much that they are a lot more interested in learning about the gospel.

The other evening, after a lesson, Gabrielle asked if we could find a place to talk. It seemed as though he was sad. After we found a secluded bench in the train station, he opened up his heart. He said, "I feel so close to my Savior. These lessons that we have been teaching have been so spiritual, and I find myself beginning to recognize the spirit, prompting me when I should bear testimony. I seek to be in tune to say what the Savior would say, rather than my own words. As I have been taking your challenge to read the Book of Mormon more and do this ward mission project, my testimony has grown a lot. My thoughts are constantly about Jesus Christ, and I am happy and I am bursting to share my testimony with my friends. As I was talking with my best friend in the car the other night, I freely bore my testimony and told him that he needed to be baptized. My friend felt the spirit so strongly that he became speechless." He bore his testimony for us for ten minutes. The Spirit was so abundant and our hearts were full to the brim.

Sorella Walton and I have witnessed him change from the inside out. We have a firm testimony of the principle taught in Preach My Gospel, "Strengthening their (the ward members') understanding of the doctrine of Christ will do more to increase their trust in you and to build their excitement to do missionary work than anything else you can do."

We are excited to light up the missionary work/member work here in Varese. By having spiritual experiences with our branch members, there will be more people baptized that will remain active and magnify callings in the years to come. Building the members' trust in the missionaries is extremely important. I know the Lord has played a marvelous part in preparing all of our hearts and minds to do this work in His way. He is sending His spirit to help us all (full-time and member missionaries) be more couragious, to get out of our comfort zones and improve our missionary skills.

Well fam, I pray for you more fervently each day. I care about you so much.

Love,

Sorella Oakes

Late Journal Entry

This is Lisa. Sorry about the late entry, my Internet access was blocked for a few days over Spring Break. Now that I'm back to work you may read her wonderful news!

Lisa