Lavoriamo con la forza — letter from 3/5/14

Ciao famiglia,
I just loved hearing all about the new temple and everything in Gilbert! Oh my goodness, so exciting.  I wish so badly I would be here when the Rome temple will be finished, but that won’t be happening. It’s so so so so exciting though.  This work is hastening!
Not gonna lie, last week, we worked HARD!  And, I am really really really really tired. It’s like every day I reach this new level of tired that I didn’t know existed.  It’s not a lack of sleep tired, it’s just an exhausted tired.  I’m like kind of having a hard time keeping my eyes open while writing this email. It’s a rewarding feeling.  So, let me tell you some stories  Thursday, we were in three with Sorella Boschia from Siena.  That was fun. She’s a native and I realized that I would just love to serve with a native companion because… I learned more Italian words in that day than I have in the past month!  And I was translating back and forth all day.  We taught a lesson together to a less-active woman and the spirit was so strong.
We set two baptismal dates this week! Miracles!  One, with a Romanian girl who we met on the bus a couple of months ago. Another, with a referral from the anziani who’s actually from America!  My companion was pretty psyched that we were speaking English 🙂  She was such a miracle, and is extremely prepared to hear the gospel.  She even came to church on Sunday!  We are excited to meet with her again.
My favorite part of this week was on Monday, with Jhon, Ines, and Karla, our new convert family.  We read the Book of Mormon together and taught them how to do family scripture study and family home evening.  It was so beautiful.  They were asking so many questions about the Book of Mormon, about who Lehi, and Nefi and Laman and Lemuele, and they just have such an openness and excitement to learn 🙂
This week, I have been fasting and praying a lot to know if one of our investigators is ready for baptism.  It’s hard, because I know that she wants to be baptized and that she has the desire, and she really could get baptized… but, I just keet feeling like she wasn’t ready.  I kind of want to ignore it, because, I want her to be baptized and receive all of the blessings.  But, at the same time, I don’t want to baptize someone who might not remain active in the church.  It just gives me a pit in my stomach. So, I’m being patient, praying a lot, and thanking Heavenly Father for answering my prayers in knowing how to help her in the right way.  In the end, I know that we are doing all that we can do, and if she chooses not to keep her commitments, than she’s choosing it.  I just love her so so much and want her to be happy, and I know that Heavenly Father loves her too and doesn’t want her to make a promsie she can’t keep.
Training is going well.  I just know all these missionaries that blame all their faults on their trainers, and so I’m super paranoid that will happen to me 🙁  I am not perfect, I don’t have all the answers, I don’t know what to do all the time, I forget a lot of things, but, I’m really just trying to do my best.  It’s not my work, it’s not my companion’s work, it’s my Heavenly Father’s work.  I am trying to balance out lessons and make things equal, but it’s hard, and sometimes it’s just easier to do it myself.  But, I really, really, really don’t want to do that.  I love my companion so much and I love her love of the Lord and her desire to bring everyone unto Christ.  She is teaching me so much, more than I could ever teach her.
I love you all so much.  I love this gospel.  I love my mission, and I love the happiness and love that I feel from Jesus Christ every day. I can feel your prayers and your strength.  I love you all, but I can honestly say I never want to come home. Not yet anyways 🙂  The real world scares me.
So che quando facciamo il nostro migliore, Dio ci aiutera a fare tutto cio che vuole che facciamo. Do vi ama.  Ci sono i miracoli ogni girono, and God is good. God is so, so good.
Please pray for me to have the energy to do everything and that I won’t put all the pressure on myself.  Just pray for me to be pleased with myself and my efforts for the Lord.  I never feel like I’m doing enough, and I know I can always give more.
Vi voglio bene,
Sorella Strong
P.S. sorry, I didn’t take any pictures this week. I know, I’m lame.
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