Dear Family and Friends,
This has been a bittersweet week. Geovanni got a job dogsitting, and now he says he doesn't have time to see us anymore. When S.lla Noteware said he couldn't get baptized if he didn't see us, he said, "Well, work is really important, and I guess I just won't get baptized." It was pretty heartbreaking. We had to drop Gasman and Cristina too. It stinks. But they weren't progressing, didn't keep commitments and wouldn't go to church. I feel like I'm letting go of family members! I've put so much heart and soul into their lessons, prayed for them like crazy, and now we can't help them. We're only allowed to visit people who are progressing. If they don't progress (come to church, read the scriptures, pray), then we are not fulfilling our purpose, and they are not really going to benefit from our visits. But boy does it hurt!
The morning that Geovanni dropped us, I read a chapter in Helaman 7 about Nephi being rejected by the wicked Nephites. Verse 2 and 3 stuck out to me while I read. I don't have my English scriptures here right now, but a rough translation from Italian says, 'And he (Nephi) was among the people in the land westward(?) had preached to them the word of God and had prophesied many things unto them. And they had rejected all of his words, so much that he could not remain among them, but had to return unto the land of his birth.' You get the idea. Anyway, so that was about an hour before we talked to Geovanni. And about an hour after that phonecall, when I was feeling upset and a little discouraged, that verse came to my mind. It brought a little comfort because obviously the Lord knew I would need that verse that day and that I might need a confirmation that we couldn't keep visiting them when they didn't make progress. Thank goodness EVERYONE isn't rejecting me and I don't have to go back to USA yet! I still have investigators, I still have a baptism this Sunday, I still have a family and friends who love me, I still have a rockin companion who takes care of me. I have SO many blessings, and if Geovanni, Cristina, or Gasman ever really need some direction in their life, maybe they'll remember that time that they prayed, read from the Book of Mormon, went to church, and felt that peace that they described. Maybe they won't get baptized in this transfer, but maybe the next time they meet the missionaries they'll recognize the Spirit they felt and want to come back.
Anyway, I guess the takeaway from that is that God knows everything that's going on. Sometimes he sends us comfort before the fact, and brings things to our minds after the fact. If we keep trying our best, even if we have falls, fails, or seem to get stuck somewhere, He is always preparing us and watching. We don't see the big picture, but He does. I care so much about these people. I'm SO bad with goodbyes!!! Lots of you know that already, but I'm just glad we have so many other people to visit and so much else to do. It keeps me busy, and makes it easier to quit thinking about myself.
Last but not least, PAOLO IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!! He's SO wonderful, and he's learned so much! He seemed so scared and confused before, but he's really getting a testimony, and he's all set for this Sunday! What a great kid. Pictures... well, coming eventually. Probably next week if I can get this CD thing to work. I might actually be able to send a package this week. If we can get all the errands done today. I can only write letters on Pday, so we'll see. I haven't had a Pday this transfer yet where I could be at home for longer than 5 minutes (to put groceries away). Then we have to run run run to the evening appointments! And because we live out of our proselyting area, we have to cut our P-days short to get to appointments. Good news is that the President is looking into getting us an apartment in the area. Bad news is, who knows how long it will take? And maybe by then I'll be transfered elsewhere. EEeek! I never want to leave this place! Never want to leave these people! Hmm.... I'm going to stop thinking about that now.
Speaking of time, I've got to go now! I have 5 minutes to send my letter to the president, and then it's off to the next errand!
Take some time this week to write down what you've learned, some of the adventures you've had, and how you feel the Spirit of the Lord influence your lives. We had a really neat "Fruits of the Spirit" lesson this week, and it was really neat to see how the Lord influences people's lives in so many ways!
I love you all so much! Thank you again and again for all your letters, support, and friendship!
Love always,
-Sorella Willey
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Sorella Willey
Sorella Elizabeth Willey
Missione Italiana di Milano
Via Gramsci, 13/4
20090 Opera MI
ITALIA
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