Sei felice?

Buon giorno la mia famiglia bellissima,

It was a pretty good week if I do say so myself. First of all, we taught 6 member present lessons. Mestre hasn’t seen more than 3 in a while. So, we’re pretty happy with this. Members make all of the difference, I’m tellin you.

One of these member-present lessons was last thursday, with 2 testimoni di geova (jehovah’s witnesses.) Most testimoni di geova that I meet on the street just want to argue, bible bash, and it’s usually quite an unpleasant experience. But, this member calls us up and says she met 2 in a park that want to meet with us. Sorella Lopez and I were pretty nervous about it. We got lost on the way to find her house. So, the member send out the 2 of them to find us. We walking down the street and this really nice girl who’s 21 years old picks us up in her car and is really nice! They just asked us a bunch of questions, only pulled out the bible a few times, and we really open. We both learned about each other’s beliefs and there was hardly any bible-bashing involved. I felt bad because I completely dominated the lesson.. I was just having so much fun really. We don’t teach people who know their bibles like they do. It’s more evidence and testimony to me of why a Restoration was completely necessary. We can read the same bible verse in so many different ways, and that is why so many of the doctrines and ordinances changed over time. The church is true. That’s all I’ve got to say 🙂

Okay, not really, there’s a little bit more to say 🙂

I want to tell you about Sunday. Sunday Sorella Lopez and I had some major break-throughs with our less-actives. (which, by the way, less-active work is just as important as baptizing, secondo me.) I want to tell you about one of the lessons that really.. I don’t know, changed me in a way, and helped grow my tesitmony un sacco.

We were teaching a less-active who we’ve had a really hard time seeing. We finally got an appointment with her and had planned to teach the Plan of Salvation. We’re talking about how we lived with God before, and how that gives us purpose in our lives here. We testified of God’s love. There was on point where I said:”[insert name here], God loves you so much. He wants you to be happy while you’re here on this earth. Are you happy?” mamma mia, the spirit was there and guiding that lesson. At first, she nodded her head in agreement, yes, I am happy. But then, we just sat there and listened, and she burst into tears. “No, no, I’m not happy at all. Why is God so unfair? Why can’t I be with my children?” As the lesson went on, she began to open up more and more to us about why she hasn’t come to church in so many years. And, we just sat there and listened and comforted her while she cried. I can’t explain it, but I was filled with love from her Heavenly Father in that moment. We testifeid of His love for her and said: “I know that He loves you so much. He is sad when you are sad. He cries with you when you cry. He laughs with you when you laugh.” And, can I just tell you , I know that this is true. Maybe because as I said it, my throat tightened up a little, I wanted to cry with her, solo perchè she was crying. He completely understands us, and it hurts Him to see us suffer. I know this, because in that moment, He spoke through us to help her, and I know it didn’t come from us. I don’t know how to explain it all, but I was filled with such a grande, immense love for her that I can’t explain.

We’re preparing her to come back to church, slowly but surely 🙂

I guess my question for you is, are you happy? I know that the Plan of Salvation brings us the ultimate happiness. That this gospel is the fonte di felicita (no way to translate that one, sorry… font of happiness, I think… boh it makes sense to me) and that it literally has the power to heal broken hearts, to wipe the tears from our eyes, and change our lives.

I love you all. This gospel is true. I know that as we lose ourselves in the service of others we experience the greatest change and growth.

Vi voglio un mondo di bene, sorry this was so long, don’t know what happened 🙂
Sorella Strong

p.s. sorry, forgot my camera today 🙁