Io sono Gesù Cristo. Ti voglio bene

Ciao cari miei!!!

This week was great!! We had a lot of miracle appointments and some interesting stories that we were told....

First things first, our investigator Magdona has a baptismal date!! We have been really trying to use the Bible more in our teaching and we invited her to be baptized on the 26th of August and she said, "the 26th? Why not the 23rd? That's my birthday!" Haha it was one of the best things I have ever heard. She's a funny person and still has a long way to go, but she has taken that first leap of faith so now we will start on helping her prepare herself for baptism! First step: come to church haha.
I had a scambio this week with Sorella N'Zoungani. She is originally from the democratic republic of the Congo but has lived in Italy since she was 2 so she only speaks Italian and she is in her first transfer. We had a lesson with a member and it turned out that her husband, who is a non-member yelled at us for like ten minutes telling us about how Mormons are racist and how we don't read the correct bible and on and on and on and then left while slamming the door. I never thought I would receive that response from asking someone who has read the Book of Mormon twice what they thought about it? Our member was really worried about our testimonies after that haha but it was really cool because this scripture came to my mind that I thought was perfect. There's no
way I could have remembered it if the Holy Ghost didn't bring the reference to my brain, but it was in Mosiah 24:13-14, 

"13. And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their   

afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."

Sorella N'Zoungani had this idea that she was going to come into the mission

and find all of these investigators and baptize them, but they have been really struggling for five weeks and haven't been able to find anything which has been really frustrating for her. I helped her realize that we don't have to baptize people to change their lives, we don't have to have investigators to be successful missionaries, and we can be teaching people ALWAYS!

As for the interesting stories, I think Italians and people from other places in the world are a lot more visionary than Americans are. Or at least they are more open with the dreams and experiences they have had. One of our less actives this week told us this story about how she had a dream that Jesus came to her when she was a little girl and wrote on her forehead, "I am Jesus Christ. I love you." She was wondering what her dream meant. And what it means when people leave messages on our foreheads. I had no idea. So if anyone knows, feel free to fill me in haha.

There were lots of other things, but I don't have time to write them haha. Just know that the day in the life of a missionary is never boring. There's ALWAYS something.

This week I was reading in the Gordon B. Hinckley manual and he said something that I really loved. He said, "I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves."

I really liked that because it is so true. 

Why are missionaries happy? 

Because they spend the majority of their time thinking about everyone except themselves. I have such a testimony that when we lose ourselves in the service of others, we find ourselves.

Have a great week!!

Vi voglio bene!

Sorella g