MIRACOLI – una mostra, e una famiglia (letter from 10/1/14)

La mia cara famiglia,

This week was a miracle filled week! I’ve been feeling kind of sad, because all the investigators that we’ve had my 5 months here that have been progressing have stopped making progress. Gotta love people’s agency 🙂

BUT. Heavenly Father answers our prayers. My companion and I have been praying so so much to find those that are ready to hear the gospel. This week was filled with street contacting, pass-bys, etc.

I want to write about 2 miracles. Saturday night we had an appointment in the church. All the streets were closed because Zelarino was having a giant festa. All of the surrounding businesses were setting up street displays to advertise for their business. It was so cool . Well, the thought popped into my head that we should do a mostra, since there would be a ton of people partying by our church that night. Within a couple of hours, the anziani had the entire thing set up. As it got later into the night, more and more people kept coming up to us. We were stopping everyone, asking them if they wanted a tour of our church. It was amazing! All 6 of us were taking groups of 5 people around the church at different times. I felt like a sister missionary from temple square 🙂 As we took people into the chapel we asked them how they felt. One couple had been to the visitors center in Hawaii, and said they felt this tranquility and peace. It was so invigorating and encouraging and faith-building, having everyone ask us questions and want to know more about we believe. The FIELD IS WHITE AND READY TO HARVEST, even here in the catholic Italy. People want to learn more, and they recognize something is missing in their lives. It was an amazing experience that I truly never will forgot. Our district is feeling very pumped from this experience, we are stopping more people, and just praying with more faith. I absolutely loved this experience. Missionary work truly brings more joy than anything else in the world. Losing ourselves in the service of others, that my friends, is happiness.

Sunday we bore our testimony about this to the members, trying to show them that people aren’t as close-minded as they think they are.

Sunday night we went to go do some less-active pass-bys and no one was interested. There was one woman who told us no, but we thought we should do a little bit of casa there. (knocking doors.) We had planned to go home and try calling through the area book , but we both saw this name on the citofono that we just had to ring. It was a spanish name so I told my companion she needed to talk to them in Spanish and maybe they’d let us in. No one answered. As we turned around, a little discouraged, a family walks up to the door, and they looked like they were from South America. I asked them where they were from, and we started talking. We told them we had a message that could bless their family, and they said we could come back another day. (First of all, that hardly ever happens.) Then, the father asked us to present our doctrine to him. we started telling him a little bit about the restoration, and then he invited us into his home to explain our doctrine. We went upstairs, he grabbed his bible and his notebook, and listened to every word we said. He promised us to read, and told us that he has been searching his whole life, and still hasn’t found what feels right to him. We promised him this was what he was looking for, and that as he truly read the Book of Mormon he could find his answer. This morning he called us, and told us that he has read a lot, and that he still has to pray, but he asked us to come over tonight instead of Friday because he has lots of questions.

This has been such a miracle for us. My companion and I have been praying harder than I’ve ever prayed on my mission to find a family, and we put it into the hands of the Lord. God is good. he answers prayers. I know that as we consecrate ourselves to Him with faith, anything is possible. Praying with faith and concentration has the power to do anything, when we pray and act in faith.

I would ask that you pray for this family .)

I love you all. Miracles happen every day!

Vi voglio bene,
Sorella Strong