Letter 17~
Hey everybody!
Well this world just keeps spinning and I am finishing up my second transfer here in La Città Eterna. Transfer calls are this Saturday, this will be my first one where my fate is uncertain and I'm getting paranoid that they are going to send me off somewhere new! And just when our work here is really starting to go places! I'll probably stay, but you never know for sure what the Lord has in store for you! And I know that if I stay or go, it is according to inspiration my mission president gets from God!
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| view of Italy ("the boot") from space (courtesy International Space Station) |
We've been doing a ton of 'finding,' aka street-contacting, which makes me a very happy missionary! It's funny, it's one of the harder aspects of missionary work, but it just may be my favorite because of all the blessings that your hard work brings. Not only does it make me SUPER happy, but...
You find people! That's why they call it FINDing!
One of those people being our new investigator Hossein! He's middle-aged, he is originally from Iran but left home at age 16 and has traveled all over the world as a musician, speaks like 8 languages or something. His instrument of preference is the two-stringed dotar, I have no idea what it is, but he has wicked long fingernails on his right hand so he can play it. Just a super friendly, very personable guy who loves people, philosophy, and laughter. He came to sacrament meeting on Sunday!
We also taught this couple, Roosevelt and Patricia, from Ecuador and Paraguay respectively. We met Roosevelt on the street, he didn't recognize our church but was willing to learn more, he's Christian but doesn't identify with any specific church. As it turns out, his girlfriend Patricia has Mormon cousins in Mexico! She said they had been basically kicked out of the family for joining the church, but her cousin came and visited her here in Rome after serving a mission, and now she doesn't understand why being Mormon merits being shunned by the family and wants to know just what we believe, after all. We had an amazing lesson on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them and Dario, an returned missionary in our ward. They really have been prepared for our message and the lesson was super great, now it's just up to them to decide if they want to learn more!
Another person we found an started teaching is Risa, this Filipina lady who we originally thought was drunk, but it turns out that's just her personality! She's very just like "la la la dee dah" and calls us "signorina," she's always saying things like "Oh, yes, thank you, yes thank you signorina," in this high little breathy voice. I'm getting pretty good at doing impressions of her. Anyhow it turns out she has a super strong relationship with God, prays all the time and reads the Bible every day. She really felt the Spirit when we taught her about the Restoration last night, and she kept saying she felt like God had led her to meet with us and talk with us! She's amazing!
As for old simpatizzanti, (investigators) Nexhi is doing great, still coming to Church and meeting with us, though she says it's still too early for her to decide to be baptized! She says she really wants to be very sure, and it just is still too soon (she's been meeting with us for about a month now). She's doing really great with reading the Book of Mormon, in a week she read about 14 chapters! When we saw her this past week, I felt really grateful as I realized all the progress she's made in this past month. She prays every morning and night. She can recognize when she is feeling the Spirit, she knows what it feels like and how she can feel it more. She comes to church every Sunday. She reads the Book of Mormon and really studies it, making sure she understands. She can read a scripture and internalize and apply it. And we've gotten to be such great friends. She can trust us with her feelings. I'm so happy to be able to work with such an amazing individual and I know it's only a matter of time until she lets us dunk her!!!!
Speaking of people getting "dunked," Lester is getting baptized this Saturday over in Rome 3 and we are going!! MY FIRST BAPTISM!
And for our other investigators- Roberto is still as flakey as ever and Antonella is still being a 14 year old girl. But I have patience and I know that no matter what happens, now that they've tasted of the truth, there will come a time when they are ready!
We had SIX people in sacrament meeting yesterday! (I think that is some kind of record, definitely by far the most my trainer Sorella Clyde has ever had!) Nexhi and her son Albi, Hossein, and this random adorable family we met on the street doing finding! An ITALIAN family! The father and 20-something year old son really loved it and are excited to come again, but the mom wasn't too sure ("This is very different from OUR church!"). We have the son's number, so we're hoping that they will come again!
Well this coming week looks like more finding and more meeting with more new people, and a baptism and transfer calls to top it off on Saturday! I'm super excited!
I love you all so much and hope this week brings miracles in your lives as well! I hope you have the faith to see the miracles that are already there!
Sorella Frandsen
brianne.frandsen@myldsmail.net
PS sorry there's no pics of us this week, this blasted computer's USB port is "fuori servizio" (out of service).
Mailing Address: LETTERS & PACKAGES
Letters take about one week to arrive, Packages take about 2 weeks,
Update: No import fees upon receiving a package! Yay!!
Sorelle Missionarie Frandsen
Via Villata, 28
00166 Roma, ITALIA
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