Dear Family and Friends,
What a week this has been! My companion finally is feeling really well, and she's been such a trooper! I love Sorella Hanks! We had a great scambio (blitz, actually), and the sisters from Bergamo came to Verona. I got to serve again with Sorella Pastano, and Sorella Hanks was with Sorella Jacobsen again. We met so many people yesterday! We had a lot of cancelled appointments, so we ended up doing 'finding work' all day. It felt so good to be out of the house and really talking to people all day about the gospel! I'm so grateful for our leaders here who help us to magnify our callings.
I am so grateful to be here. I am grateful for what I am learning, and I can't believe that we're getting to the end of another transfer. Who knows, maybe I'll be off to Florence or Torino next week at this time! I'd love to spend Christmas in Verona, but who knows?
The fun thing is that Unity is getting baptized this weekend. He quit smoking, he has learned to read (!!!!!), and he reads from the Book of Mormon every day! We found a bunch of new people yesterday that we're SO excited to visit! It's amazing to see how God loves all of His children, and he also gives them agency. I am really beginning to feel a love for the people here. I mean, I loved them already, but I'm starting to feel like I will really miss them. More than I ever thought possible. Even the people I just meet once or twice I really care about. I wish I could live everywhere at once.
The Italians REALLY know how to celebrate Christmas! They were completely decorated by the 2nd of December, and everyone is SO festive! There's a fun thing that I am just discovering. Each area of Italy celebrates on different days. They all have different traditions about which 'saint' brings the 'gifts for the kids.' Here in Verona, they celebrate on December 12 and Santa Lucia brings the gifts. In other places they celebrate on December 25th, January 6, November 1, and they have all sorts of different saints. It's fun to see their traditions, but I like what our president and his wife have challenged us to do.
They asked us to pick a Christlike attribute and give a 'gift' to Christ each day in December so we can focus on becoming more Christlike. I like it so much, that I'm going to make it a family tradition - in my future family - but at least for myself. Of course I'll miss all of you at this wonderful time of year, but I am going to love this Christmas. Maybe even more than last year in the MTC. That was pretty special.
I have been finding lots of fun object lessons in the scriptures and in everyday life. I'd like to recommend Alma 30:44 first. I love this scripture, because it's so true! In nearly every activity, in all of nature, in all the scriptures, there is some way to strengthen our testimony of Jesus Christ. Today I wrote my testimony of Christ in my journal. It has developed a lot, and I feel like I am really beginning to understand more of the Atonement. I don't know if I'll ever really and truly comprehend it, but I am seeing so many blessings that I don't know if I ever really noticed before. I used to believe that we had to have faith in things. Faith that we'd be able to do something, faith that we could find something, etc. But I'm starting to realize that we have to have faith that Jesus Christ, through His atonement (Moroni 7:41), can help us do all things, find things, realize our eternal potential, and be able to find that peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come. And as we have this faith, we will do everything we can to obey Him so we can qualify for all the blessings that He already paid for and wants to give to us.
I love you all! You mean so much to me, and I know that you will continue to be blessed as you study the word of God and pray daily! I pray for you, and I feel your prayers! Thank you!
Keep the faith!
Love always,
-Sorella Willey
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Sorella Willey
Sorella Willey
Sorella Elizabeth Willey
Missione Italiana di Milano
Via Gramsci, 13/4
20090 Opera MI
ITALIA
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